The issue of further lowering the minimum wage in Greece takes tragicomic features. Not only because the government reassures through Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras, that there won’t be any further lowering below €586 gross (€480 net) per month, even though EU Monetary commissioner Olli Rehn said a revision was planned for 2014.
But because the man who openly defended to take the last piece of bread form the mouth of workers and employees, the general secretary of Finance Ministry, Giorgos Mergos, the man with two jobs in times of unemployment at 26%, is in the happy position to cash €6,200 per month, Net!
As general secretary of Finance Ministry he get €3,700 net per month (€ 5,000 gross).
Additionally he receives another €2,500 net from his position at the Financial Stability fund.
A total of €6,200 net. That is, he earns in a month so much as a minimum-wager gets in one year!
Now wonder, Giorgos Mergos cannot understand the pain of the other. He sees Greek development only in wages cuts, but in the wages of the other.
Giorgos Mergos
The situation got even more absurd, when main opposition party, left-wing SYRIZA claimed Mergos receives three salaries: the two mentioned above plus one as professor at Athens University.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Giorgos Mergos spoke of “slander” saying he received only two wages, not three.
“For the second consecutive day I become target of populist and misleading attacks. Today, some people, particularly SYRIZA MP Dimitris Papadimoulis discovered that I have been receiving three salaries,” angry Mergos noted obviously annoyed of being brandmark as someone with many jobs. “My salary was suspended form the University when I was named general secretary of the FinMin, ” he wrote stressing that also his “predecessor at the ministry held a position at the FSF.”
PS. ah, those offended Marie Antoinettes…
Isn’t taking part the dealings around the Financial Stability Fund part of this man’s job as General Secretary of the FinMin and therefore totally illogic? If not illegal, as Greek civil servants are not allowed to have another job beside his/her job? (At least that is what several of them told me over the years)
And is the job of General Secretary of the FinMin of one of a country on the brink total financial ruin not a full time job???
Ah, why not. Let’s congratulate this man to his great successes. He probably earned it… working so hard… 😀
he is not a civil servant in the narrow definition of the word. he is also member of scientific board of Karamanlis Foundaition. maybe he gets also 100 euro here and there from the board meetings.
How many heads is that man wearing?! Or does he have a twin brother to be able to hold so many jobs and positions? (BTW wasn’t he the guy whose daughter allegedly…?)
he is an example of hard-working wizzards… oops! sorry! Greeks, I wanted to write. We already wrote about the golden daughter on our first post about him and his statements.