The reform of the public service is entering a phase of substantive developments, as changes touching the core of how the State functions are being advanced before Parliament. At the centre are the bills on recruitment and promotions, while discussions are also under way on revising the salary scales, in an effort to modernise the machinery of the state.
Debate on the bills promoting changes to the process of recruiting and evaluating candidates for public service posts is ongoing, with the aim of speeding up the procedures for filling vacancies.
Reform of the recruitment system is urgent, says PASYDY Secretary-General
There is broad agreement that reform of the existing system is necessary, with the parliamentary parties acknowledging that current procedures involve significant delays and shortcomings that affect the effective staffing of the public service.
Debate on the bills concerning the evaluation of candidates for appointment to the public service began last Monday in Parliament and will continue today. During the session of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, MPs stressed the need to modernise the recruitment system, though objections were raised over the increased weighting given to heads of department in the scoring and over removing Parliament's approval of the lists of posts.
PASYDY's positive stance
PASYDY also responded positively to the general direction of the proposed changes, and has submitted a series of recommendations to the Department of Public Administration and Personnel for further improving the bills.
PASYDY Secretary-General Stratis Matthaiou, speaking to Politis, noted that most of the provisions in the bills originated as PASYDY proposals.
He noted, characteristically, that the existing recruitment system no longer meets the needs of the public service, pointing out that in several cases it takes more than two years to finally fill a post, creating serious problems for staffing and for the smooth operation of services.
Matthaiou also addressed the issue of vacancies being announced gradually throughout the year. According to Matthaiou, this practice results in candidates who are appointed to one post later moving to another when new positions that better match their preferences are announced. This constant movement of staff, he pointed out, causes disruption in departments and makes it harder to plan and organise work.
To address this problem, PASYDY had proposed that vacancies be announced in a single, unified round, preferably within the first two months of each year, so that interested candidates have a complete picture of the available options from the outset. It also proposed introducing a mechanism allowing candidates to declare their order of preference, as provided for in the bill under discussion.
Preliminary agreement reached on converting inter-departmental promotions into intra-departmental ones
Following the meeting between PASYDY's leadership and the President of the Republic on 4 August, attended by the Finance Minister, the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, the Deputy Minister to the President, the Director-General of the Finance Ministry and other officials, a joint working group has been set up, made up of representatives of the Finance Ministry, the Public Service Commission and PASYDY, to draw up proposals for improving the reform of the public service, in line with the President's instructions.
We understand that discussion within the working group currently concerns the issue of converting inter-departmental promotion into intra-departmental promotion, and that there appears to be preliminary agreement on this matter.
On the issue of inter-departmental promotions, Matthaiou said: "We believe that sidelining the subject-matter expertise creates serious problems in cases where the candidate who receives the inter-departmental promotion does not come from the specific department or service to which the post corresponds."
Based on the initial results of filling inter-departmental promotion posts following the November 2025 examinations, he noted, candidates who obtained inter-departmental promotion posts but came from a different department or service are, in practice, unable to cope with the duties of the post due to a lack of relevant expertise.
PASYDY proposes converting the institution of inter-departmental promotion into intra-departmental promotion, so that candidates' knowledge of the subject matter of the post can also be assessed.
According to PASYDY, the content of the examination held for First Appointment and Promotion posts, from Scale A14(ii) and above, should be revised in the same way. The knowledge and expertise of the candidate in relation to the responsibilities and work of the department or service are not examined at any stage of this process, PASYDY stresses. The aim, the Secretary-General commented, should be to select the best candidates and those with leadership skills, capable of handling administrative matters and who are additionally familiar with the work and remit of the department, service, ministry or deputy ministry they will be called on to run.
Regarding promotion posts up to Scale A11(ii), PASYDY has submitted in writing its positions on redistributing the criteria and the weighting taken into account when granting promotions to these posts, as it considers that this process, too, needs improvement.
Matthaiou identified as PASYDY's top priority achieving those changes that will bring substantive improvement to how the public service functions, whether in the way recruitment is carried out or the way promotions are awarded, stressing that a properly staffed public service works to the benefit of productivity and efficiency and upgrades the quality of the services provided to citizens and businesses.
Pay scales
On the issue of the salary scales, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos, in an interview with Politis, had said that discussions were taking place, noting that PASYDY understands that in times of crisis, public servants are the first to be affected. "Discussions are taking place with the aim of modernising the state salary system," Matthaiou noted.
It is noted that Keravnos also expressed concern about the public service evaluation system, arguing that its results tend to resemble the situation before the reform, which is not satisfactory. "We are in consultations with all parties involved, including PASYDY. Our first priority, however, remains the proper and timely staffing of the public service with the right people in the right posts," he stressed.
