Greek civil servants join strike in Athens against public sector cutsGreek civil servants join strike in Athens against public sector cutsGreek civil servants join strike in Athens against public sector cutsGreek civil servants join strike in Athens against public sector cuts

Civil service global roundup: Turkey lacks female officials, St Kitts offers bonuses, and Canada's civil servants suffer stress

Greece: civil servants strike in Athens against cuts and layoffs

Greek civil servants have launched a 48-hour strike in protest against job cuts. The strike, which began on 24 September, followed a similar stoppage the week before and resulted in government buildings being shut. School and university teachers have been on strike since 16 September.

Middle East: Arab countries meet to discuss administrative reforms

Public leaders from Arab countries, including Oman, have been meeting in the Spanish city of Granada to discuss new administrative structures, IT, and new ways to interact with citizens. The forum, organised by the Arab Administrative Development Organisation, was set up to improve the leadership skills of officials in Arab countries.

Turkey: women make up less than 10% of senior officials

Only 9.4% of the 6,197 most senior officials in Turkish public service are women, according to figures from the Turkish state personnel office. Only 36% of public service employees are women, compared to 73% in Sweden and 65% in the UK.

St Kitts: civil servants awarded bonuses worth two months' salary

Civil servants in St Kitts have been given a bonus of a double month's salary in recognition of their work in the 30 years since the country gained independence. The country's prime minister, Denzil Douglas, announced the bonus as a "small token" of appreciation for public servants' "loyal and committed service to the people of this country".

Zimbabwe: negotiations start over pay rises for state employees

Public sector workers in Zimbabwe have opened talks with the government on a new pay structure that would include big pay rises for government workers, including teachers, soldiers, police officers, doctors and nurses. Workers' unions in the country want to see the basic pay for government workers rise from $297 to a minimum of $540.

Canada: civil servants are more stressed than 75% of population

A study into the health of managers revealed that civil service executives deal with more stress than 75% of the adult population in Canada. Managers work more than 50 hours a week. The study also found that depression rates among civil service leaders have doubled over the past five years.

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Golden Dawn leadership arrested in Greece

by  NEOnline

Police in Greece have arrested the leader of far right parliamentary party Golden Dawn (GD) and another three of its parliamentarians. The crackdown follows the murder of an anti-fascist activist on September 18. 

According to media reports, there are arrest warrants for another two of GD's 18 parliamentarians. Overall the prosecutors in Greece have issued 34 warrants for the arrest of GD members. 

The crackdown on GD came after public opinion in Greece became outraged when a elf-confessed GD supporter killed Pavlos Fyssas, an anti-nazi activist and rapper, also known as KillahP. 

Phone records handed over to the prosecuting authorities appears to show a connection between his murdered and the local GD leadership. Members of the organisation have told the press that attacks launched by the GD - in many cases against immigrants- were authorised from the top, with phone calls up and down the chain of command used to pass on the information.

In reaction to the killing, the Greek government forwarded to the prosecutors a file of over 30 cases in which Golden Dawn was implicated. It was all revealed that the authorities were tapping GD phones well ahead of the murder. 

GD rose from relative obscurity to enter parliament in the May 2012 general election as Greeks, disaffected after three year of austerity, voted for them in what was initially thought of as a protest vote. Since then GD has solidified its support and until two week ago was steadily polling as the third biggest party in Greece. 

Its leader, Nikos Mihaloliakos, has threatened that its MPs will resign, instigating elections in 15 constituencies that together could bring 70 percent of the Greek electorate to the polls. 

Greece has received a €240 billion euro bailout by the EU and the IMF in return for forcing through painful structural reforms, budget cuts and tax hikes that have resulted in an unemployment rate of nearly 30 percent and six consecutive years of recession.

 

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Greece arrests head of far-right Golden Dawn party

Greek police arrested the leader and the spokesman of the far-right Golden Dawn party on Saturday on charges of founding a criminal organization, and have issued arrest warrants for dozens more party members and lawmakers, police officials said.

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Greek police arrest leader of far-right Golden Dawn party Nikolaos Mihaloliakos

Greek police arrested the leader and the spokesman of the far-right Golden Dawn party on Saturday on charges of founding a criminal organisation, and have issued arrest warrants for dozens more party members and lawmakers, police officials said. Police are ...

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Right wing Greek leader arrested

The leader of Greece's extreme right wing Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michaloliakos, and a member of parliament for the party, Elias Kassidiaris, have been arrested on charges of forming a criminal gang, Athens police said Saturday.

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Greece: Golden Dawn party leader and lawmaker arrested, police say

Athens (CNN)-- The leader of Greece's extreme right wing Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michaloliakos, and a member of parliament for the party, Elias Kassidiaris, have been arrested on charges of forming a criminal gang, Athens police said Saturday.

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Greek Police Arrest Head of Nationalist Golden Dawn Party

Greek police arrested Nikolaos Michaloliakos, leader of the nationalist Golden Dawn party, as part of an investigation into alleged criminal activity by the political movement, a police spokeswoman said.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com