Civil servants' austerity bonus cuts are legal

The Council of State, Greece's highest court, said on Monday that the austerity axing of civil servants' Christmas, Easter and summer leave bonuses is constitutional.

The Christmas and Easter bonuses, equal to a full and half a month's wage respectively, are known as the 13th and 14th salaries.

At a closed-door session on Friday, the Council's plenary overturned an earlier decision by a Council of State division that had found that the bonus cuts were unconstitutional, contravening the Greek constitution's articles 4 and 25.

The decision affects all public sector workers and pensioners, including staff at state schools, hospitals and the armed forces.