"After five years of crisis, [European Central Bank] staff across all departments are overworked," IPSO chief Marius Mager said. According to a study by the IPSO labour union, seen and reported by AFPon 3 July, 80.1% of ECB employees complained of a "heavy workload" at the moment and 74.4% of them said it was a "permanent" situation. More than 76% said they were working longer hours, for which most of them (77.7%) received no extra pay. Nearly 16% of those polled said their workload was having a "serious effect" on their private life and/or their health. All this makes for "serious potential operational risk" [for the bank, said Mager.

The poll was carried out among 715 ECB staff on both permanent and temporary contracts. The ECB employs a total of 2,600 people, 1,200 of whom are on permanent contracts. ECB President Mario Draghi has asked the bank's Executive Board to approve an increase in the workforce in the coming years, but IPSO said it has not been informed on exact numbers and expressed concern it would not be sufficient. "According to the rumours, there will be 50-60 new appointments over two or three years," Mager said.