IT’S NOT MY FAULT
DOWN UNDER BOOM
INSIDE
Experts ponder a president’s increasingly erratic behaviour
Sex, drugs and rock and roll follow the money as Australia’s economy booms
TV and lifestyle supplements to see you through the week
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www.cyprus-mail.com
January 6, 2013
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COFFEESHOP: TOF THE TERRIBLE PRAISES HIMSELF FOR JOB WELL DONE PAGE 17 INSIDE Cyprus UK Greek Orthodox school in head scarf row 3
World Wildfires leave thousands stranded in Tasmania 8
Feature Welcoming the inevitable diet after Christmas feast 20
Property What to get up to in the garden this month 23
Sport Debut double for Ba as Blues thrash Saints back
The Central Bank defends rehiring retired personnel Contracts given to those who took retirement to ensure now reduced bonuses received
A
T LEAST two Central Bank employees who took early retirement to avoid losing any benefits have been rehired by the regulator on contracts, the Sunday Mail has learned. The two, Maria Stefani, secretary of Senior Director Spyros Stavrinakis, and Maria Papadopoulou, were both re-hired on contracts after opting to take early retirement to avoid losing any of their benefits as part of new legislation that came into force this month. The Central Bank said the contracts were for a short period and were deemed necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the organisation in light of the rising number of early retirements. Over 1,200 public servants – three-quarters of total retirements in 2012 - including teachers and police officers, opted for early retirement last year to dodge cuts to their pensions and lump sums after the government enacted a series of austerity measures in line with a bailout adjustment programme. A third retired employee, Andreas Michael, has also been re-hired on a contract, but it was not clear if he too had left early or if he had reached retirement age. The Central Bank said it was a necessary move to
cope with increasing obligations combined with the high number of personnel departures. The Central Bank is required to ensure the smooth operation of its departments and services, especially at this time, when it is assuming an increasing number of responsibilities, the regulator said. “It became necessary to offer a small number of work contracts of a limited time period until procedures to hire permanent personnel are completed,” the Central Bank said. Bank employee union ETYK, which had in the past made a lot of fuss over a similar move, has so far remained silent on the matter. At the end of 2010, ETYK lodged a complaint with the labour ministry after the Central Bank decided to extend the employment of senior director Costas Poullis beyond the date of his retirement. At the time, the union also took exception to the Central Bank hiring contract staff. Under the new regime, public servants’ retirement lump sums will be partially taxed while pension benefits will be calculated on a prorata basis taking into account life-time service and not the last salary as it was up until the last day of 2012.
A gigantic, yellow rubber duck is prepared prior to being floated into Sydney’s Darling Harbour yesterday to kick off Sydney’s annual arts festival. The rubber duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman forms part of the festival, which will present more than 750 artists from 17 countries (AFP)
Fortune favours non-event: Grand Warlock sets out 2013 ANTONIO Vazquez is a cherubic 72-year-old with twinkling eyes, a long white beard and a knack for predicting things that don’t actually happen. For more than three decades, Mexico’s selfproclaimed ‘Grand Warlock’ has been doing tarot card and horoscope readings to reveal what’s in store - or not - for the coming year. His past predictions: Fidel Castro would die in 2008; Germany would win the 2006 World Cup; and Barack Obama would lose to Mitt Romney. Despite Vazquez’s consistently incorrect record of prognostication, dozens of journalists packed Mexico City’s press club for the
Grand Warlock’s latest round of predictions in what has become one of the country’s most reliably strange and inexplicably popular New Year’s traditions. On tap for 2013, according to the Grand Warlock: a new war in the Middle East; chaos in Venezuela and a tough year for Obama. But it’s not all bad news. Vazquez said 2013 would be a great year for Mexico, a country that has struggled with drug violence and a slow economy. “Mexico is going to have a relevant place in the world, economically speaking,” he said. “Mexico will place itself as a paradise for investors.”