K. Hatzidakis to SYRIZA: ‘You are with the dogmas and the guilds and we are with the 6.5 million defenseless insured’

“Watching the opposition talk about the EFKA modernization bill, I wonder if this is another expression of populism or just in its world, since while it complains about the situation to EFKA, it actually asks us to stay in the situation it complains about!” This was emphasized by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking to the Social Affairs Committee of the Parliament, during the first day of the discussion of the bill.

“On the one hand we have efforts for substantial changes in EFKA and on the other obsession with populism and spider-denied dogmas. The policy pursued in EFKA and its predecessors by all governments has proved ineffective and that is why the Agency collects the “48% of the complaints concern all the bodies of the public sector”, noted Mr. Hatzidakis, referring later to the situation he received. “We received 1,059,000 insurance claims from the SYRIZA government and a mountain of pending pensions. It bothers you, but this is the reality From 123,000 main pensions issued in 2019 and 161,000 in 2020, we reached 225,000 in 2021 which is an all-time record , using state-of-the-art IT and management tools, as well as certified lawyers and accountants who have begun to assist in this endeavor. citizens over 80%.

“But these results are not enough for us, neither in pensions, nor in serving the people. We want to create a new EFKA, faster, more efficient, friendlier to the 6.5 million insured. Our priority is the defenseless Greek citizen “You are with the dogmas and the guilds and we are with the many, the defenseless citizens!” underlined Mr. Hatzidakis.

Then, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs analyzed the three main axes of the bill:

First, providing incentives and controls at all levels. As he explained, “we give incentives to attract competent executives to EFKA and create the conditions to control the executives, both those who will come and those who are there. Because this is what the insured asks. May the one who achieves the goals be rewarded and “At the same time, the one who does not do his job well and is indifferent towards the citizen should be controlled. We are going against the logic of flattening, populism and caressing the ears!”

Secondly, the acceleration of lengthy procedures that prevent, inter alia, the timely supply of consumables while bothering employees and policyholders

And thirdly, the utilization of the real estate of EFKA, the most valuable part of which has been left to decay, for the benefit of the insured since it will generate more income for the Agency.

“One can not remain indifferent to an organization that collects half of the complaints of the entire State, nor expect that the problem will be addressed without special intervention. You only suggest hiring. We will proceed with hiring contractors who will help in the pensions and permanent employees. If it was to solve the recruitment problem altogether, then the State would fly! But when you are dealing with a multi-injured person like EFKA, you need a comprehensive approach to the problems! Why did you change the management, the approach, the method, which are words foreign to you? ! “, continued Mr. Hatzidakis and concluded:

“You will be left with the troparion and we will do the reform. As we did the intervention to save PPC, in the same way we will proceed to a radical modernization intervention of EFKA, with common sense arrangements to reorganize its most problematic organization You all argued together that this bill allegedly harms the public interest and the social character of EFKA and social security in our country. forward and will make it more friendly to workers and retirees.What affects the public interest is your populism.And what affects the social character of the policy applied in Greece, was the Katrougalos law that you passed and It is the mess that SYRIZA created during the unification of EFKA and led to 1,059,000 insurance pending issues. These are the views you express over time and even more so today. It is these views and this policy that harm EFKA, employees and retirees. “On the contrary, the policy we are going to implement is a policy that is going to put things on a different trajectory and will make the government okay at the end of the four years, with its commitments to upgrade the Public Administration and especially EFKA”, he underlined Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.