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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-01-25Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] State health sector to hire 6,000 new staff, minister tells PMPrime minister Costas Karamanlis met Thursday with health minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and discussed issues falling under the ministry's competency.Avramopoulos told reporters after the meeting that they discussed the ministry's legislative initiatives, citing particularly the bill on procurements, which he said would put in order an environment that has been disorderly for years, and also a bill on primary healthcare. Replying to a question on hirings and the lack of staff in state hospitals, Avramopoulos said that the strengthening of the National Health System (ESY) was progressing well, with 6,000 hirings on the horizon, of which 1,700 would be carried out through the ASEP (public sector hiring examinations board) for 8-month contracts, and 3,000 through the OAED (state-run Manpower Employment Organisation) programmes for 18-month internships. Asked to comment on reports of unhygienic meats and other foodstuffs by a Greek television programme, the health minister said that, in addition to the State's actions, the conscientiousness of the businessmen was also very important, noting that "we are all judged on our professionalism and our conscientiousness". [02] Hospitals underfunctioning Papandreou chargesMain opposition leader George Papandreou severely criticised the government's policy in the health sector, during a visit to the Attiko University Hospital in Haidari on Thursday.Papandreou accused the government of hirings in sectors where they were not necessary, such as the Rural Police, while ignoring sectors such as that of the hospitals, which he said suffered from lack of healthcare staff. The PASOK leader further charged that "many important hospitals, such as the Attiko, are underfunctioning". [03] SYN's Alavanos meets NTUA Rectorial CouncilThe leader of the Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology (SYN) party Alekos Alavanos on Thursday met with the Rectorial Council of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) - known in Greek as Metsovio Polytechnio. Afterwards, he called on the government to withdraw proposals for a bill on education that would also restrict protection afforded by university asylum.At the same time, he urged the main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) to "stop essentially supporting the government's policy on this issue, which was the central political issue in the country" and join SYN's efforts to prevent any change to article 16 of the Constitution and ensure that university education remained exclusive to the state sector in Greece. NTUA Rector Constantinos Moutzouris expressed hope that "wisdom will prevail" and that the views of the Rectorial Councils of the four oldest universities in the country would be taken into account. He stressed that these proposals and views were made by those who cared deeply for universities and that they were "cries of agony" at the attempt to degrade and devalue them. Vice-rector Gerassimos Spathis said that the reform was motivated by a desire to exploit a potentially lucrative sector: "There is great demand in Greece for the education sector and market. This is why this reform is being attempted at this junction," he said. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |