The new pay scale in the Armed Forces will be specified this morning by the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, following yesterday’s announcement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, adjusting upwards the salaries of staff.

Mitsotakis, although the government’s preparation for the new salaries in the Armed Forces has been systematic over the last ten days, so that the money saved from the new structure of the Armed Forces can be allocated.

According to the prime minister, “in agreement with the Treasury we will be able to give our uniformed personnel significant new increases which are largely funded by savings made by the Ministry of National Defence itself as part of the new structure of the armed forces. It is not enough just to buy the most modern weapons and give our armed forces the most modern equipment, but we need to be sure that the members of the armed forces are properly remunerated so that we can attract young people to the armed forces and a total overhaul of the payroll and the rank and file is in this direction,” Mitsotakis concluded.

The “piggy bank”

Besides, the rationalization of spending at the Greek Pentagon combined with the sweeping crises in the Armed Forces have created a “piggy bank”, which is not even temporary, leaving a window for dynamic salary adjustments in the cadres in the future. This is because the New Structure in the Armed Forces reduces the number of senior and senior officers promoted to higher ranks, i.e. narrows the pyramid of the hierarchy upwards.

As a result of the streamlining of the Ministry of National Defense’s finances, the new raises will not burden the budget and will be given in 3 waves:

– 1st wave: 30 euros from the new minimum wage increase

– 2nd wave: €100 as a hazard allowance from 1 July

– 3rd wave: staggered increase depending on the rank and current salary of the executives, in autumn

The triple increase for Armed Forces officers will result in a total upward adjustment of more than 10% of their current salary, while the same officers will also benefit from the change in tax rates, immediately following the Prime Minister’s announcements at the TIF.

It should be noted that the “window” of increases opened by the New Armed Forces Structure is now opening, given that the Pentagon also has its real estate portfolio, which aspires to finance the housing program of 4,000 houses for officers transferred to border areas, while also having new sources of fundraising that do not affect fiscal planning.