Galery

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Although Greece is on a war footing, as senior government functionaries state every day, the privileges of deputies are endless despite having been somewhat cut.

The occupation or position of parliamentarian is still profitable and attractive, especially if one thinks about the scale of the tax attack suffered by Greeks with medium and low incomes.

The deputies’ basic payment alone comprises a monthly salary of € 5,800 to € 6,100, additional payment of € 150 per person for participation in each session of parliamentary committees, full pension after two parliamentary terms in addition to the pension they receive from exercising their professions, a monthly rental allowance to the amount of € 1,000 for deputies from the country and an annual allowance of € 1,500 for the requirements of the office.

More privileges include: 65 free air tickets for deputies from the country, cell phone with prepaid calls to a value of € 180, free public transport as well as a research associate, four civil servants and a policeman.

The total value is far from low despite the 40% decrease in their salaries. According to the official budget for the expenditure of the Greek Parliament, the 2011 deputy fees for taking part in summer sessions and committees reach € 5 million, the total amounts for their offices is € 8,086,300, while their transport costs amount to € 1,715,600. The amounts budgeted for 2010 are € 5.5, € 9,286,300 and € 1,987,800, which show the extent of their cut.

Overtime costs for state employees working in deputies’ offices in 2011 are € 5,526,800 compared with € 6,000,000 in 2010. This year, Greek taxpayers will pay € 1.67 million for the deputies’ transport costs, which last year were € 1.85 million. € 500,000, i.e. € 100,000 more than in 2010, are provided for their travelling abroad.

The costs of deputies’ mobile phones are € 658,000 against € 680,000 last year, and the total costs of the telecommunication services they use are € 8,715,000 - about € 100,000 less than last year.

After the cut in salaries from last year until today, the deputies are losing € 40,500 per year. So, their net income, which does not include non-payment of telephone and postal services, the provision of electronic equipment, rents for offices for deputies from the country, use of a car, researcher, etc. is between € 70,000 and 80,000 per year.

In particular, deputies’ "bonuses" paid from the state budget are:

§ € 8 million for office establishment and organization

§ € 8.7 million for telecommunication services

§ € 5.5 million for overtime allowances of the civil servants assigned to them

§ € 5 million for their participation in the summer parliamentary sessions

§ € 5 million for their cars

§ € 3.2 million for their trips

And this is what each of the Greek deputies receives:

§ € 5.800 - 6.100 monthly salary

§ € 150 allowance for participation in any meeting of parliamentary committees

§ € 1,500 per year for office expenses

§ € 1,000 per month for mobile phone calls

§ 65 air tickets for deputies from the country

After the fierce social protests and the slogans of the Discontented against them, the deputies decided to deprive themselves of their comfortable luxury cars and agreed to replace them with smaller ones. Limos are expected to disappear within a month. The costs for deputies’ vehicles are almost € 5 million per year, € 1.5 million less than last year. The deputies are only obliged to pay for petrol, and not for annual vignettes, insurance and maintenance of the vehicles. So, the deputies from Athens and Piraeus will have cars with 1400 hp, for which Parliament will pay a monthly rental of € 750. Their counterparts from the country will have cars with 1800 hp and their monthly rental will amount to € 1,200.

Parliament employees, most of whom are the children, relatives and friends of parliamentarians, cost the budget just as much. € 60 million have been earmarked for their salaries for 2011. This amount includes the salaries and social security of 1,343 workers with permanent and unlimited contracts, amounting to almost € 38 million. Approximately € 21 million are allocated for the salaries of research assistants assigned to the deputies and for the salaries of the employees with limited contracts.

In addition to the salary cuts, all government officials, parliament employees were deprived of 8 per cent of the overtime and transportation allowances and are not granted Christmas and Easter allowances. Those who have high salaries said farewell to 50 per cent and the lower paid – to 50 per cent of the special allowance for the beginning and end of parliamentary sessions, and those amounts are already taxed, something that has never happened before.