Plenum to vote on changing working hours for civil servants

Parliament is set to vote on a bill on Thursday that will amend civil servant working hours in an effort to alleviate traffic issues.

The current hours of the public service are from arrival between 7:30am and 8:30am, with a finishing time from 3pm until 4pm.

According to the amendment, plenum will vote on hours for civil servants to be changed to arrival from 7am until 8:30am, and departure between 2:30pm and 4pm.

The amendment was promoted in the House finance committee meeting last week, where it was decided that with the extension of civil servant working hours by half an hour, it is expected that there will be a reduction of the traffic observed at the opening and closing times of the public service, since it will be divided into longer period of time.

Under the amendment, working hours for parliament employees would also be amended similarly, extending the flexibility from half an hour to one hour.

Last week, parliament permanent secretary Tasoula Ieronimidou informed the finance committee in writing that the parliament, due to its work, presents specific particularities and idiosyncrasies and therefore, within the framework of its autonomy, it is recommended that the House president be given the authority to decide on the arrival and departure time of employees and the implementation of flexible working hours.

Meanwhile, Isotita union proposed an alternative solution to the issue of working hours, which it claims will better serve civil servants and enhance the efficiency and productivity of the civil service.

In particular, the trade union proposed that the working hours of civil servants be further extended, that is, that they have the right to come to work from 6:30am until 9:30am and leave from 2pm until 5pm.

They argue that this provides a more flexible and effective solution to address the concerns of civil servants, while enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the civil service.