PASYDY boycotts meeting with minister

THE POWERFUL civil servants union PASYDY yesterday boycotted a meeting between the finance minister and unions, calling instead on Charilaos Stavrakis to stop playing games and acknowledge his mistake and seek redemption.
Stavrakis invited all unions for a working lunch yesterday, where he outlined the government’s budget for 2011 and gave an overview of the state of the economy. While SEK, PEO and DEOK union heads came out of the meeting saying the omens were positive for 2011, one union boss stayed behind his desk, crying foul over the minister’s violation of the sanctity of the union “gospel”.
Head of PASYDY Glafcos Hadjipetrou refused to attend yesterday’s meeting, accusing Stavrakis of showing “contempt” for the powerful union.
The under fire minister is being accused of unilaterally deciding to cut the personal allowances of senior state officials. Stavrakis claims no decision has been taken yet though he did concede that the issue was discussed in cabinet on Monday.
PASYDY is opposed to tampering with the representation allowances, which can reach €1,800 a month for some high-ranking state officials and even warned of possible industrial action if the government goes through with it. The allowances, despite being tax-free, are factored in when calculating pensions.
Noting everyone has to chip in during the economic crisis, Stavrakis has also promised to re-evaluate the various benefits of high-ranking state officials, ministers, MPs and senior civil servants. He acknowledged that some benefits at first sight appear “excessive”.
This assessment was not well received by Hadjipetrou, who said the minister had gone against sacrosanct labour relations protocol by not approaching PASYDY first before discussing these proposals.
“The main issue is that the Finance Ministry and its head did not respect the established procedures, which is a very serious issue and we have indicated so in a letter,” he said. 
“(Stavrakis) neither replied, nor thought it necessary to take corrective steps… so there is no sense in dialogue,” he said, adding, “The union charter is the beginning and the end, it is gospel and he should understand he was wrong”.
The union boss called on Stavrakis to acknowledge his mea culpa and invite the union for dialogue.
However, Stavrakis’ relations with other union bosses remained intact yesterday, with left-wing PEO general secretary Pambis Kyritsis saying the minister gave a positive forecast for 2011 which allowed for optimism “that we are entering a path of recovery”.
He echoed the views of right-wing SEK head Nicos Moyseos that the main burden of the economic crisis “must be shouldered more by those who can, those who have and own.”
Head of EDEK-affiliated union DEOK Diomides Diomidous was less upbeat, noting: “The fact remains, these are difficult times.”

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