European CommissionThe Second Economic Adjustm<strong>en</strong>t Programme for Greece. Fourth Review2014, following an ext<strong>en</strong>sive consultation with the Commission services, aimed at taking into accountthe principles contained in new EU directives on the subject. E-procurem<strong>en</strong>t platforms have be<strong>en</strong>established, both for information and for t<strong>en</strong>dering purposes, but a set of key recomm<strong>en</strong>dations comingfrom an indep<strong>en</strong>d<strong>en</strong>t assessm<strong>en</strong>t needs to be implem<strong>en</strong>ted, in order to improve their effectiv<strong>en</strong>ess.Finally, work on c<strong>en</strong>tral purchasing bodies is progressing, with framework contracts being drawn upand a set of categories to be commonly purchased id<strong>en</strong>tified.3.2.6. Making the public administration more effici<strong>en</strong>t and effective58. The authorities are advancing on public administration reform, delivering on the 2013 quantitativetargets, ev<strong>en</strong> if with delays, and increasingly focusing on qualitative aspects.59. The Governm<strong>en</strong>t is on track to deliver the decrease in g<strong>en</strong>eral governm<strong>en</strong>t employm<strong>en</strong>t by150,000, ahead of the deadline set at the <strong>en</strong>d of 2015. The reduction in ordinary staff has be<strong>en</strong> alreadystrong at the <strong>en</strong>d of 2013, as shown in graph 19 below. This target is being pursued by a rigorousapplicaton of an 1:5 attrition rule (only 1 employee can be hired for every 5 retirem<strong>en</strong>ts). While thehorizontal application of this rule has contributed to reducing the size of the civil service, it is nowess<strong>en</strong>tial, in order for it to deliver the necessary quality of services, to hire new employees in a timelyfashion, and following a rigorous, skill-based selection process and to set up a rigorous system ofperformance assessm<strong>en</strong>t. Moreover, it does not address the g<strong>en</strong>eral need for improving the skills andmotivation of staff.Graph 19. Greek G<strong>en</strong>eral Governm<strong>en</strong>t employm<strong>en</strong>t (thousands of persons)9008007006005004002009 2010 2011 2012 2013Ordinary staff Other staffNote: Data for Chapter A <strong>en</strong>terprises is not included (see also Note 1 of Table 7) | Source: MAREG, C<strong>en</strong>sus database and MOF Special Secretariat for State Owned Enterprises.Table 7. Greece - employm<strong>en</strong>t in public sector (number of persons)2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016G<strong>en</strong>eral Governm<strong>en</strong>t 707,609 653,746 635,227 623,219 606,170Ordinary staff 692,907 667,374 646,657 629,114 599,207 581,886 570,271 553,619Other staff 175,550 132,877 72,333 56,588 36,372 36,037 36,037 36,037Chapter A <strong>en</strong>tities n.a n.a n.a 20,446 16,587 15,723 15,330 14,933Chapter A fixed term contracts n.a n.a n.a 1,461 1,580 1,580 1,580 1,580Memorandum itemsChapter A <strong>en</strong>tities not classified as GG n.a n.a n.a 18,603 17,365 16,491 16,093 15,691Chapter A <strong>en</strong>tities in the public sector (all contracts) 38,894 34,254 28,366 40,510 35,532 33,794 33,003 32,204Total public s ector (excluding ESPA and self financed other staff) 907,351 834,505 747,356 726,212 671,111 651,717 639,311 621,860ESPA and self-financed other staff 15,343 47,570 44,946 44,946 44,946Source: MAREG.Public sector is defined as the g<strong>en</strong>eral governm<strong>en</strong>t as well as legal <strong>en</strong>tities of private law supervised by local governm<strong>en</strong>ts or the state, and excluding Chapter B companies.Note 1. Data on Chapter A companies betwe<strong>en</strong> 2009 and 2011 does not differ<strong>en</strong>tiate betwe<strong>en</strong> companies in the G<strong>en</strong>eral Governm<strong>en</strong>t and outside the G<strong>en</strong>eral Governm<strong>en</strong>t. From2012 onwards the data has be<strong>en</strong> updated to take into account this distinction and wid<strong>en</strong> the C<strong>en</strong>sus coverage to make it more accurate. Therefore data on Chapter A companiesbetwe<strong>en</strong> 2009-2011 and 2012- is not comparable.Note 2. The above data are based on GAO projections and reflect the measures of the latest MTFS as well as other assumptions that may be updated in cooperation with theEC/ECB/IMF.38
3. Programme implem<strong>en</strong>tation60. The transfer of 25,000 employees to the mandatory mobility ("availability") scheme has be<strong>en</strong>completed, ev<strong>en</strong> if with three months of delay compared to the initial deadline. The Greekauthorities proceeded with a well-defined strategy, adopting relevant legal instrum<strong>en</strong>ts to abolishredundant positions and to provide for the transfer, immediate or after assessm<strong>en</strong>t, of personnel to thescheme. The employees placed in the mobility scheme will be assessed within a c<strong>en</strong>trally-definedevaluation framework and have the opportunity to find another job, in line with their compet<strong>en</strong>ces andthe needs of the administration, within eight months. Those who are not reallocated before this date willexit, as it has be<strong>en</strong> the case at the <strong>en</strong>d of March 2014 for over 300 staff who <strong>en</strong>tered the scheme in July2013. A total of around 15,000 employees is expected to find a new job, after transiting through thescheme, in departm<strong>en</strong>ts suffering from understaffing.61. The target of 5,000 cumulative mandatory exits until March 2014 has be<strong>en</strong> achieved. To reach the<strong>en</strong>d-2014 target of 15,000 exits, in addition to the exits coming from the mobility scheme, theauthorities are conc<strong>en</strong>trating on disciplinary cases, illegal hirings, downsizing of private law legal<strong>en</strong>tities, and the id<strong>en</strong>tification of redundant positions as a result of further organizational restructuring.Subsequ<strong>en</strong>tly, the authorities estimate as an indicative number that there would be 2,000 such exits byQ1 2015. These would free up additional space for new hiring of staff on top of ahwt g<strong>en</strong>erated by the1:5 attrition rule.62. Staffing plans have be<strong>en</strong> almost completed across the administration. The Governm<strong>en</strong>t Council ofReform has approved staffing plans for 577,106 employees, leaving to be completed the assessm<strong>en</strong>t of30,648 employees, i.e. about 5% of the perman<strong>en</strong>t workforce. Presid<strong>en</strong>tial Decrees and other legalinstrum<strong>en</strong>ts to implem<strong>en</strong>t the new organisational structures for the line Ministries have be<strong>en</strong> submittedto the State Council and are expected to be adopted within June.63. A two-year administrative reform action plan, also <strong>en</strong>compassing a compreh<strong>en</strong>sive humanresources strategy, has be<strong>en</strong> adopted. The plan deals with mobility and deploym<strong>en</strong>t, performance ofmanagem<strong>en</strong>t, disciplinary cases, training, selection of top managem<strong>en</strong>t, roles and assessm<strong>en</strong>t ofmanagem<strong>en</strong>t and HR managers' network. Legislation to improve the curr<strong>en</strong>t evaluation system isexpected to be adopted in April, and a compreh<strong>en</strong>sive reform of the system will be introduced from2015. A new system for the recruitm<strong>en</strong>t of managers, curr<strong>en</strong>tly being legislated, should bring acomplete r<strong>en</strong>ewal of the managem<strong>en</strong>t staff by June 2015. A more careful assessm<strong>en</strong>t of new <strong>en</strong>trantsneeds to be made, through a stronger scre<strong>en</strong>ing of the staff under probation period.64. The authorities int<strong>en</strong>d to introduce a new “mobility” scheme as a perman<strong>en</strong>t mechanism forvoluntary and mandatory transfers. This scheme aims at better allocating personnel within the publicadministration without being connected to exits nor requiring placing employees under the availabilityscheme and reducing their remuneration. The authorities also int<strong>en</strong>d to establish by March 2015 aninternal job market within the public administration, while implem<strong>en</strong>ting mandatory rotation within thepublic sector beyond the ongoing restructuring exercise to facilitate continuous r<strong>en</strong>ewal of skills. Theywill am<strong>en</strong>d the legislation of mandatory mobility, so that in case of refusal to take up the new position,the employee would be moved to the availability scheme.65. A compreh<strong>en</strong>sive review of employm<strong>en</strong>t levels and of the remuneration structure is needed andwill be completed in parallel with the preparation of the 2014 budget, with a view to replace the existingwage grid in 2015. It should <strong>en</strong>sure they are consist<strong>en</strong>t with high-quality provision of public servicesand are fiscally sustainable. The authorities plan to address implem<strong>en</strong>tation issues related to the wagegrid reform and introduce a rationalization of the public sector wage structure in a fiscally neutral way,including the compreh<strong>en</strong>sive application of the wage grid reform across the public sector anddecompressing the wage distribution in both directions in connection with the skills, performance andresponsibility of staff. Non-wage b<strong>en</strong>efits will also be reviewed and aligned with EU best practices.3.2.7. Modernising the healthcare system66. A period of deep<strong>en</strong>ing and fine-tuning of health care reforms has now started, with importantchall<strong>en</strong>ges lying ahead. Ensuring a better financial situation for EOPYY (the National Organisation forthe Provision of Health Services) and improving financing mechanisms and financial flows across the39
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