Cyprus Finance Minister Makis Keravnos on Wednesday said the need to hire more civil servants is there and that House Finance Committee members just need to unfreeze already approved ones.
He had requested their approval for a total of 1851 positions but got the red light and even though he had earlier said he was willing to negotiate with MPs the final number of positions he nonetheless repeated the same request.
The Ministry cites last year’s state budget proposal for 2023 where the former cabinet had said that funds were needed for 1,851 jobs in the civil service and broader public sector.
The Nikos Christodoulides cabinet which took the state’s helm on March 1 had approved the number of positions during a meeting in April.
However, parliament refused to back them as this would mean massive hiring reminiscent of pre-crisis times ad a huge burden on the state payroll.
MPs, mainly from ex ruling Disy party which is now in opposition, expected the government to reduce the number of positions.
Especially after the Finance Minister’s public statements that the government does not insist on the unfreezing of all 1851 positions. In fact, he had expressed readiness to consult with Parliament on the final number.
