Civil servants’ trade union Pasydy on Wednesday expressed relief after the government agreed to put forward a bill to restore their full access to free healthcare outside Gesy.

Following a meeting with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and the ministry’s permanent secretary Andreas Zachariades, the union said the bill will “end the unfair and unequal treatment which public sector workers and public sector pensioners have been receiving following the unilateral abolition of their right to healthcare”.

Parliament had in May last year removed civil servants and retired former civil servants’ automatic right to have healthcare which is not covered by Gesy provided to them free of charge – a move which Pasydy secretary-general Stratis Matheou said had “decisively affected patients’ quality of life”.

He pointed out that after the law was passed in parliament, most patients with chronic illnesses continued to receive treatment not covered by Gesy free of charge, but that civil servants, retired civil servants, and their family members were all asked to pay for the same procedures.

Pasydy also said on Wednesday that private sector workers on low incomes receive a “hospital card” which entitles them to free healthcare in some sectors, but that the same right was not afforded to public sector workers earning the same salaries.

However, following Wednesday’s meeting, Pasydy said it was “satisfied” that a bill to reverse this decision, with it expected that it will be put to cabinet on February 5.

Matheou told newspaper Phileleftheros on Wednesday that the restoration of civil servants’ right to free healthcare “corrects an unjust decision”, adding that parliament’s decision in May had “lacked a rational basis”.