Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000569/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left)
Every year since 2003, without fail, the Greek fire brigade has employed workers in order to cover its permanent and lasting staffing needs. During this time, these workers have been carrying out the same tasks as the fire brigade’s permanent staff, covering the service’s permanent and lasting staffing needs as a matter of course. Nevertheless, they always seem to be employed under successive fixed-term contracts – a contract type that is not justified based on the needs of these workers either. These employees are well-established and fundamental to the very functioning of the service, which is all the more evident given the fact that some of these workers have more than 20 years of service under their belts. Moreover, due to the undoubtable effects of the climate crisis, the need for the Greek fire brigade (not only for firefighting but also for general responses to any severe and extreme natural phenomenon, flooding, earthquakes, etc.) has increased and is not limited to a specific period of time.
The Greek Government’s practice of drawing up successive fixed-term employment contracts for a number of years, without any objective justification, is contrary to the protective provisions of Directive 1999/70/EC[1].
What measures will the Commission take to ensure that the Greek Government complies with the provisions of Directive 1999/70/EC?
Submitted: 7.2.2025
- [1] Article 1: ‘The purpose of the Directive is to put into effect the framework agreement on fixed-term contracts’. Preamble to the framework agreement: ‘The parties to this agreement recognise that contracts of an indefinite duration are, and will continue to be, the general form of employment relationship between employers and workers’, ‘whereas employment contracts of an indefinite duration are the general form of employment relationships and contribute to the quality of life of the workers concerned and improve performance’. Article 2 of the directive: ‘Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this directive by 10 July 1999, or shall ensure that, by that date at the latest, management and labour have introduced the necessary measures by agreement, the Member States being required to take any necessary measures to enable them at any time to be in a position to guarantee the results imposed by this Directive. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.’