Civil servant bonuses scrapped

In a blow to the aspirations of thousands of public sectors workers, a plenary session of the Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, has ruled that the law scrapping Christmas, Easter and holiday bonuses for civil servants is constitutional.
According to reports, the decision, which also impacts staff at local authorities and state entities, was taken in an acrimonious session late on Friday.
The law scrapping the bonuses was passed in 2012 and has been challenged repeatedly over its constitutionality by civil servants.
The decision upholding the legality of the cuts - less than a week before European Parliament elections - overturned a ruling more than a year ago by a section of the top administrative court that the cuts violated the Constitution.
The International Monetary Fund had estimated that the cost of retroactive payments made to...