Her apparent intention to Mitsotakis government «to outsource the cleaning services of public-sector agencies to private interests,» they allege in their inquiry to the relevant ministries, 53 of its members of parliament SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance, on her initiative Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou.
As the members of Parliament point out:
The surge in the pandemic COVID-19 It further highlighted the need for strict adherence to public health and safety regulations in all workplaces.
It is absolutely clear that the provision of cleaning services to all public sector entities, where there is a large concentration of both employees and citizens, is a constant and ongoing necessity, and strict adherence to the necessary hygiene standards can be ensured only by employees with stable employment relationships and not by casual labor contractscontracts.
The SYRIZA government, despite tight fiscal constraints and the restrictions on hiring imposed by the memoranda, proceeded to enact a transitional provision to meet staffing needs through 18-month contracts, with the aim of finding a permanent solution to the issue following the country’s exit from the adjustment programs and the lifting of the relevant restrictions.
Unfortunately, as was evident from the very beginning, the New Democracy government is not seeking to resolve the problem. Clinging to its ideological obsessions and clientelist logic, it appears that, in reality, it is seeking to outsource sanitation services to private interests, just as it has done in the past.
The only concession the government was forced to make, under political and parliamentary pressure from SYRIZA—the Progressive Alliance—was to issue calls for bids for 18-month contracts at individual public sector agencies.
(See Questions No. 2103/November 22, 2019, and No. 5421/April 3, 2020, submitted to Parliament by Members of Parliament from the SYRIZA Parliamentary Group – Progressive Alliance, addressed to the co-responsible Ministers of the Interior and Finance).
However, the avoidance of creating permanent positions, the small number of positions advertised, the fragmented nature of job postings by different public sector agencies at different times, and the lack of measures to further recognize the prior work experience of those already employed in the cleaning sector have created major problems.
The information we have already received following the release of the initial results by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) indicates that the majority of workers in the cleaning sector are not included in the list of those hired. These are people with many years of continuous service in the cleaning sector, people who are now of advanced age and therefore clearly face difficulties in finding new employment opportunities, suddenly find themselves out on the street.
The problem this creates is enormous. Both in terms of meeting the needs of the government—since the valuable experience these people have gained in performing their duties is being lost—and from a social and humanitarian perspective, as people who are now of advanced age are faced with the specter of unemployment and financial insecurity.
Given that, The provision of cleaning services is a constant and ongoing need.
Since, thanks to the coordinated efforts of the SYRIZA government, the country has emerged from the memoranda, and the public sector is now able to hire permanent employees based on the 1:1 rule.
Given that, The onset of the pandemic led to the complete dismantling of neoliberal dogmas and highlighted the need to support the welfare state.
Since, based on basic principles of social sensitivity, people with many years of continuous experience in the public sector’s cleaning services should not be forced into unemployment, who, among other things, carried out their duties throughout the pandemic while exposing themselves to constant risks to their personal health.
The relevant Ministers are asked:
- Does the government intend to find a permanent solution to the problem of staffing in public sector agencies by creating permanent positions based on the actual needs of those agencies?;
- What does he intend to do about the dozens of long-term cleaning staff at the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), at the Ministry of Finance and other public agencies, who will find themselves out of work once the results of the published job announcements are finalized? Will the government seek to find a permanent solution for these people who will face the specter of unemployment and poverty during a particularly critical health, economic, and social context?;
The questioning Members of Parliament
Xenogiannakopoulou Mariliza
Avramakis Lefteris
Agathopoulou Irini
Alexiadis Tryfon
Anagnostopoulou Sia
Augeri Dora
Avlonitis Alexandros - Christos
Vagena Anna
Vardakis Socrates
Vetta Kalliopi
Gara Natasha
Giolas Giannis
Dritsas Thodoris
Tania Eleftheriadou
Kostas Zachariadis
Zeibek Husein
Nikos Igoumenides
Manolis Thrapsaniotis
Dionysis Kalamatianos
Frosso Karasarlidou
Kasimatis Nina
Katsis Marios
Kafantari Chara
Panagiotis Kouroumblis
Lappas Spyros
Malama Sunday
Mamoulakis Haris
Costas Markou
Meikopoulos Alexandros
Michaelides Andreas
Yiannis Balafas
Barcas Kostas
Thanos Moraitis
Notopoulou Katerina
Papadopoulos Sakis
Papailiou George
Papanatsiou Katerina
Nikos Pappas
Polakis Pavlos
Poulou Yiota
Santorini Nektarios
Panos Skourletis
Skouroliakos Panagiotis (Panos)
Betty Scoofa
Syralenios Nikos
Olympia Teligioridou
Tzoufi Meropi
Famellos Socrates
Nikos Filis
Fotiou Theano
Haritou Dimitris
Christidou Rallia
Psychogios George
