• The government remains firm, citing an assessment by the ILO actuary
• If included in the first phase, the reform would be completed in the next two to four years
• The ESS meeting on February 24 is considered crucial
• Employers and trade unions will submit their proposals and arguments

Whether or not Provident Funds will be included in the first phase of the pension reform will be decided at the meeting of the Labour Advisory Body on February 24.

The Ministry of Labour maintains its position, as also expressed through statements by Marinos Mousiouttas, that Provident Funds cannot be incorporated into the process of the first phase of pension reform.

This position was reiterated both by the Minister of Labour during yesterday’s meeting of the Labour Advisory Body and by Costas Markides, actuary of the International Labour Organization.

According to information obtained by Brief, the actuary told social partners that if Provident Funds are included in the first phase, the completion of the reform process would be delayed by between two and four years.

He explained that there are inherent technical difficulties which, combined with the human factor, would cause unnecessary delays.

It appears that the government’s goal is to submit the relevant bill concerning the first phase to the Council of Ministers by the summer and, with the reopening of Parliament, to put it to a vote.

The first phase will include the Social Insurance Fund and the new structure of its investment policy, the repayment of the state’s debt to the Fund, the controversial issue of the 12 percent actuarial deduction, and the prospect of increasing low pensions.

As Brief reported yesterday, there is a proposal to first unify all pensions in order to avoid the payment of pensions below the poverty threshold.

According to the actuary, the three components of the reform relating to the Social Insurance Fund constitute the main pillars of the pension system and therefore, as he told members of the Labour Advisory Body, they should be given priority.

The same sources indicate that Marinos Mousiouttas called on employer and trade union organizations, before the next meeting of the Labour Advisory Body, to submit their recommendations and arguments in writing to him on this contentious issue, so that there can be, as he said, a more holistic discussion and reflection.

The Minister of Labour committed that, following the February 24 meeting of the Labour Advisory Body, more frequent meetings of the social partners will take place in order to achieve the goal of completing the process after the end of the summer.

It is noted that employer organizations OEB and KEVE, as well as the respective trade union organizations, are opposed to the government proceeding in a piecemeal manner with the reform of the pension system.

Their position is that Provident Funds should be included in the first phase.

The meeting of the Labour Advisory Body took on the character of a “common front of employers and trade unions against the government.”

They questioned why the government is so eager to move forward and implement the pension reform immediately, even in a fragmented manner.