Public payroll gets a bump despite reform promises

Last week the government and trade unions inked an agreement granting civil servants and public-sector workers a 1.5 per cent salary bump. The move raised eyebrows, given that only recently the government had promised to rationalise the public payroll, even hiring consultants from the IMF to come up with proposals. The 1.5 per cent hike itself won’t break the camel’s back; it’s the general upward trend in payroll spending that has some worried.

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos had said...