Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis responded to statements made by 19 Greek mayors, who have insisted that they will not permit the review of work contracts that changed the status of municipal personnel from contract workers to payroll employees. An Athens court of first instance on Thursday deemed illegal and abusive a decision by the ADEDY civil servants’ union to prevent its members from taking part in an evaluation process, prompting the government to underline its determination to complete the assessment. “There is no longer any excuse,” said Mitsotakis. “This needs to be taken on board by everyone, both those who are opposed to the checks and evaluation as well as those who are their political protectors.” The government aims for the evaluation process to lead to 15 percent of civil servants being either retrained, moved to more suitable positions or dismissed. Thursday’s verdict was the fourth to uphold the government’s efforts to carry out the evaluation. It also bars ADEDY from holding further action on this issue. “We have to agree on the self-evident: It is clear that everyone has to be evaluated,” said Mitsotakis. “It is also evident that anyone who got a job in the public sector illegally has to be dismissed. The checks for forged certificates and on contracts that were made permanent without the necessary criteria being fulfilled will be stepped up.” The mayors — who have the support of the new Attica region governor Rena Dourou — have decided not to provide the information required to crosscheck the employees’ qualifications to the ministry of Administrative Reform.