Recruitment Ruling for Municipal Nurseries

A unanimous decision by Greece's Council of State to approve a draft presidential decree on recruitment scoring was an important development for staff at municipal nurseries and childcare centres, according to POE-OTA president Nikos Trakas.

Mr Trakas said the court had ruled that the recruitment system set out in articles 757 to 768 of Law 5314/2026, the unified local government code, was compatible with the constitution.

It also found that awarding double points for experience gained by employees at municipal infant, nursery and childcare centres did not breach the principle of equality and was justified as a recruitment criterion.

Recruitment notices can proceed

POE-OTA said the decision cleared the way for posts at municipal centres to be advertised and for them to be filled by staff already working in those services, according to airetos.gr.

The federation president described the ruling as particularly important. For the first time since 2001, he said, the Council of State had found in advance that increased recognition of existing municipal workers' experience was not only constitutional but could also serve as a merit-based recruitment criterion.

Mr Trakas argued that the same approach could create prospects for other groups of contract workers and help resolve long-standing employment insecurity.

Presidential decree published

According to his statement, the relevant presidential decree was published on 24 August. Municipalities were now expected to establish all required posts at infant, nursery and childcare centres so the services could be fully staffed.

One significant provision allowed the posts to be filled where applicants had 24 months of experience in the relevant role.

The measure was expected to strengthen the position of employees already serving in municipal facilities because their previous work would carry greater weight during selection.

Federation credits workers' campaign

Mr Trakas attributed the outcome to POE-OTA's work, the campaign by employees and the federation's legal representation by its adviser Maria-Magdalini Tsipra.

He said the federation had consistently pursued its objectives through both campaigning and legal action, and assured staff that it was monitoring the process closely.

A further update for employees would follow, he added, expressing the view that their jobs were now protected not only for the current year but for the future.