120.000 civil servants to change jobs

A happy new year is revealed from the start and as it seems, many of the 2011 «gifts» will be «locked» from January, so that possibly until March their implications will already have been judged…

The IMF announcements about the loan extension are expected in t he first half of January. With Troika decisions in the background, the government is devising a plan to secure the 46bil euro installments programmed for 2011 early and without problems.

The information from Washington is that the IMF is ready to announce the extension plan for the 110bil euro loan. The remaining 3 yrs of the program, plus 2 yrs of repayment, will become 4.5 yrs for the grace period and 5.5 yrs for the repayment of the loan.

All this provided, however, that the European partners come to an agreement. The Finance Ministry has raised the alarm. Apart from measures to be implemented in 2011 (and the rest that must be decided upon for three years, from 2012 to 2014), monthly targets for the budget must be set and strictly complied with.

In January for example:

* 5,5bil euro must be collected
* costs must not rise above 4,83bil euro

* and if you calculate the repayments of bonds and treasury bills, the total expenditure slightly exceeds 10bil euros

By January 10, 120.000 employees working in 75 organizations and municipal enterprises must apply for a transfer

* either to the new corporation that will come out from the merger
* or to others that will be suggested

Otherwise they will lose their job.

On the closed professions front, Giorgos Papakonstantinou will have the first battle introducing the bill in January which will just enforce their release. By the summer all presidential decrees, which would enable the ministries to determine under what conditions they will remove the restrictions on each of the professions, will have to be issued.