Michaelidou: “Recognition by the Advocate of the Citizen of e-EFKA”

‘ From the sky to the service of our fellow citizens, to the time of response to their demands and to their resolution, e-EFKA has become a model. And that’s not what we call it, it’s the official evidence of the Citizen. The valid reports on social security issues, according to the counsel’s annual reports, fell by 40% last year compared to 2022. The number of outstanding main pensions from 1 million that were two years ago has now declined below 23,000 and is declining. The 1555 call center, to serve citizens on insurance, labour and social issues, which received, in the last six months alone, 8.5 million calls, and served over 96% of them. The average service time was only 3.3 minutes and the waiting period was only 18 seconds. This is a substantial improvement of the services provided to our fellow citizens, resulting from the effectiveness of the Government, the Administration and the staff of the e-EFKA. And it reflects our stated will that the preservation of the essential and procedural rights of the insured is at the heart of our policies because our concern is the benefit of our fellow citizens.” This was stressed by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Domna Michailidou, during her presence in the Committee on Public Companies Banking of Public Benefits and Social Security Bodies of the House, on the occasion of her proposal to place Mr. Constantinos Megaritis, in the position of the new Deputy Governor of the Electronic National Social Security Agency (e-EFKA). “In the new era of completion of the digital transformation of e-EFKA,” Domna Michailidou said, “the placement of Mr Constantine Megaritis, in the place of the new Deputy Governor, is considered necessary. Mr. Megarite is distinguished for his effectiveness and essential organizational skills.” Mr. Megaritis is a graduate of the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and holds an MBA in Business Administration from Athens University of Economics (OPA). Mr. Megaritis, who succeeds Mr. Nikolaos Pagonis after his four-year elective term in office, has worked for four years at the Ministry of Labour. Special mention was made by the Minister for Labour and Social Security, in the two new digital projects that are at the forefront and will contribute to the further effectiveness of the Agency for the benefit of citizens. The first project concerns the digitization of insurance life, a work that Domna Michailidou said “both the citizen and the services will be able to see the stamps together”. The second is the Integrated Information System of e-EFKA, in which, as the Minister said, “the approximately 90 different electronic bases currently operating will be consolidated. This in practice means that when the project is completed and put into service, service time will have been limited to the minimum possible.” At another point in her position Domna Michailidou said: “It is a common assumption that e-EFKA is close to our fellow citizens. Today a pension is issued on average in 60 days, when a few years ago our fellow citizens expected even a four-year period.” The Minister of Labour and Social Security also stressed that the digitisation of the e-EFKA which contributes decisively to the direct service of citizens, the security of procedures, the protection of personal data and the monitoring of the administrative work. “The electronic applications to the KEPA cleared the citizens of at least three visits to the services of the EPCA” noted. “Our goal” concluded Domna Michailidou “is the citizens to be served faster and even more effectively. In this context we continue to upgrade e-EFKA services and ensure that the services provided meet the needs of our fellow citizens.”