4% legal bribes and 432,000 euros for parliament staff

Unbelievable but true for Greece. And this is only part of a government grant that has been institutionalized for years for the Fund of the privileged parliament employees.

NBG: 26,000 per month

For 28 years now there has been a branch of the National Bank of Greece that operates in the parliament building. It is an area of ​​approximately 30 square meters, which barely fits 5-6 offices, for the bank clerks to service MPs, their associates and parliament employees.

The NBG is in the peristyle of the parliament, between the main entrance and the main door leading to the auditorium. Outside the bank there are two ATMs. Since 2008 the bank has been paying rent to use this space, in which our nation’s fathers and those working in the building carry out their transactions quickly, and especially with confidence.

How much is the rent paid by NBG? 26,000 euros per month, or 312,000 euros per annum. The conclusion is that the most expensive region of the country is not the Ermou shopping street but the parliament building, since NBG has agreed to pay such a high rent for only a few square meters. However one would expect that these 312,000 euros may be used to cover parliament expenses. Or even in this difficult period for the Greeks, that this money may be directed to the special account created at the initiative of the President ofparliament Philippos Petsalnikos to repay the Greek debt. Unfortunately, the money is directed into the parliament Employees Trust Fund.

By what process and why do employees get the money paid by a bank to the parliament is yet unknown and certainly needs to be explained by the officials who tolerate this situation and those who benefit from this global innovation.

"All the rents"

A union employee of the parliament who spoke with Proto Thema admits that "the rent of those premises let by the Greek parliament, both for the main building and the regional buildings, go to the Trust Fund for parliament employees."

The lessee of the parliament restaurant and cafeteria pays less money, about 24,000 euros per year. The canteen and bar are located on the ground floor, while the daily turnover may exceed the monthly rent. This has raised many questions for the employees of the parliament who are charged with finding a tenant for this enterprise.

Indicatively, an espresso costs about 2 euros and a simple drink 4,5 euros, and the workload on a daily basis is around 700 people. The cost for a simple meal in the restaurant is just under 10 euros per person.

Post Office and Olympic Airways

The branch of the Greek Post Office is on the right of the great hall, which one crosses if one goes through the entrance opposite the National Garden. According to reports, the monthly rent is 4,000 euros.

The Olympic Airways office was on the ground floor of the parliament, but has recently moved to Sekeri Street. The rent is 4,000 euros.

A second lump sum

The bundle from all these voluntary contributions is used so that employees receive a second lump sum upon retiring. That is, beyond what they get from their insurance fund, they take home a second benefit from TAYB, which in turn collects the money from rents that completely arbitrarily and provocatively are granted to it even though they belong to the Greek Parliament and should be available to those in need. For each year of insurance, employees get two wages, that is at 28 years they have received 56 salaries or roughly 200,000 euros.

They get a separate lump sum by the Welfare Fund for civil servants, while their dividend distributed by the Civil Servants Pension Fund is not included.

And all this apart from the 16 salaries they had been receiving until recently. Nevertheless, the TAYB unionists protested recently because part of the money they have been collecting at the Fund was turned into ​​government bonds and received a haircut of 53% by decision of the Bank of Greece.