Showing posts with label nationwide strikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nationwide strikes. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Judgement day for Greece
Today Greek prime minister will announce the full details of the deal that it has negotiated with the EU-IMF-ECB over the conditions of the bailout package. So far the media here have been coy about saying what exactly the agreement contains but the general consensus is that it will include painful cuts across the board in terms of pay and conditions in both the private and public sector. In addition there are likely to be large job cuts as many civil service positions are axed.The most likely tactic will be a change from permanent contract to fixed term ones which when they run out will not be renewed.
As well as cuts in income Greeks are also going to be hit by yet another round of rises in VAT and other indirect taxes (the second in six months). Already the local public tranport authority here in Thessaloniki has announced 20-100% increase in bus ticket prices.
As you can imagine there is a lot of popular anger from people affected by these measures and this is likely to fuel a wave of protests and strikes in the coming months. Already the Greek communist party (KKE), which is the third largest has delared that it will fight the austerity package and is calling on workers to raise up. Other groups are also oganising different ways to try and fight against the government's plans with direct action and protests which have been scheduled for the coming week.
While everyone in Greece agrrees that the present situation is dire and things cannot continue as before they are bitter and angry that the very same politicians who failed to avert the present economic crisis either due to incompetence, corruption or indifference are now calling upon ordinary Greeks to make sacrifices. This would be a steep order for any country even in the best of circumstances but giving the extreme corruption of Greece's ruling political and economic nomenclenture none of country's leaders retains the moral stature necessary to convince people to take the difficult steps that lay ahead.
THe ruling PASOK party headed by Giorgos Papandreou has done little to clean up ts own house when it comes to graft and influence peddling and despite court cases in Germany and the UK, the scandals its senior members were involved in during their last term in power have yet to result in any criminal charges being brought against those involved here. On the other hand the newly elected leader of the defeated New Democracy, Antonis Samaras heads a party whose members presided other one of the worst periods of corruption in Greek history yet few have even been fired let alone been the subject of a court trial.
What people are enraged about is that such incompetence and corruption is likely to be repeated since no one is in a position to put a stop to the pevious abuses of power. The judiciary is little more than an extension of whoever is in power and can be ignored at will while the media is suppine in the face of the temptation of rewards from those in power in the form of state jobs, contracts and advertising revenue. Sometimes it seems that the news here is a choice between a Hellenic version of Fox News or Pravda, with very little objective reporting.
The clashes witnessed in Athens during May Day are likely to be repeated in the following days as the general strike this week is going to a catatlyst for people's rage and frustration.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
PAME trade unionists picket Fokas department store - Thessaloniki, Greece
PAME trade unionists picket Fokas department store - Thessaloniki, Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.
Members of the PAME (ΠΑΜΕ) trade union joined with employees of the Fokas and Hondas Centre department stores in a day long strike in the centre of Thessaloniki, Greece today over deteriorating pay and conditions for shop workers. The action was taken as part of a general wave of strikes planned for the next two days.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Greek PM goes to war but with whom?
Today the Greek prime minister Giorgos Papndreou announced a series of emergency measures aimed at raisng government revenues and cutting costs. These have included hikes in VAT across the board extra tax on petrol, alcohol and tobacco, cuts in civil servent's pay and a freeze on pension rises.
In his address to the Greek parliament Papandreou said that the country is "at war" and that these measures are necessary to avoid the country going bankrupt.
The reaction on the internet and on the street has ranged from desperation to outrage at the seeming injustice of members of the country's pampered political elite demanding sacrifices after making such a huge mess of running the country. On hearing the measures I found myself reminded of a quote from The Crow in which Eric Draven says to a drug lord,
"I see you have made your decision, now let's see you enforce it."
Over the coming days, weeks and months we are going to witness a showdown between a morally and intellectually bankrupt political nomenclature which has lied through its teeth to just about anyone who will listen both at home and abroad and the ordinary people in this country over who gets the foot the bill for decades of greed and mismanagement.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Greece hit by massive strikes
Greece was hit today by a a wave of stoppages which effectively paralysed the country. Journalists, teachers, air traffic controllers and many other unions staged the action in order to protest against the economic policies of the current conservative New Democracy government and to express their dissatisfaction with the Prime Minster, Kostas Karamanlis's recent record on issues such as pension reforms.
The move by the Greek government to inject 28 billion Euros into the country's banking sector has also fuelled an angry response by people facing failing public services and ever growing unemployment. In addition the latest economic scandal involving a Greek Orthodox monastery in allegedly illegal land deals with the New Democracy administration has merely added to the Prime Minister's woes.
According to the main opposition party PASOK, the Vatopedi monastery land swap scandal is the 45th such case in the current government's 54 month in power.
Tags: Greece | protests | World | STRIKES | New Democracy | Kostas Karamanlis | vetpoedi
Monday, May 12, 2008
Greece out of gas
Most of Greece's filling stations have run out of petrol. After visiting ten or so this morning I couldn't find a single one that had anything other than diesel. As a result I had to cancel some lessons as I didn't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no petrol. The problem stems from a tanker driver's strike which has been going on for the last week or so. I 'm not sure what people are going to do from tomorrow onwards as supplies dwindle even further.
For more details click here to see my NowPublic account of the whole affair.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Protesters occupy Thessaloniki chamber of commerce
Thessaloniki - Greece
Demonstrators in the northern Greek town of Thessaloniki occupied the city's chamber of commerce (SEV) in protest against the government's plans to reform the state pension scheme. In prelude to the general strike announced by unions tomorrow anti - authoritarian groups took over the building housing SEv on Tsimiski St and handed out leaflets to passers by. They denounced reform plans which have generated a wave strikes and stoppages and strikes over the last month.
The conservative government's new law, which will be put the vote in parliament tomorrow, would see the country's 133 pension schemes slimmed down to 13 and see drastic cuts in the pensions given to those retiring early and an increase in retirement age for others.
The demonstrators argue that existing shortfalls in the pension funding system comes from the failure of government to collect contributions from employers and the fact that billions of euros in debt have been written off in return for political favours. Indeed the Greek state itself owes the pension fund 7.8 billion euros, according to figures quoted by representatives of those protesting.
Tomorrow power workers, local council staff, lawyers, journalists, public transport employees and many other public and private sector workers are planning to strike in an action that is expected to bring the country to a halt.
Tags: Greece | Thessaloniki | CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | demonstrations | OCCUPATIONS | pension reforms | protest | World
Strikes and demonstrations
"With 70,000 tons of rubbish laying uncollected in the greater metropolitan Athens area the Greek government has sent in riot police to ensure than the garbage trucks can enter the capital's Ano Losion land fill. The move underlines the government's hardening stance over the stoppages caused by controversial pension reform plans. The country has been convulsed by strike action by unions determined to oppose the government's plans to merge the nation's 133 pension funds with the state run IKA fund.
The POE - OTA union has announced that it will continue strike action for the next two days and take part in the general strike scheduled for Wednesday."
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/greek-government-
sends-riot-police-break-strike
Friday, March 14, 2008
Greek government facing perfect storm
Despite having won a re-election campaign just six months ago the conservative government of Greece is facing a political perfect storm. With the streets of major cities filling up with uncollected rubbish and the country facing rolling blackouts, both caused by striking public sector workers, the New Democracy government of Kostas Karamanlis is beset with a series of scandals and political battles both at home and abroad.
The ongoing sex and blackmail scandal which saw the minister for culture, Christos Zaxopulos attempt to take his own life last month has continued to shock and titilate the Greek public. In addition revelations over alleged corruption and bribery by the German Siemens corporation in order to win security contracts for the 2004 Olympic games in Athens have severely dented the ruling party's standing in the polls.
The next two weeks will prove crucial to the gvernement as it has promised to push through controversial pension reforms that have stirred up a wave of strikes and protests by groups as diverse as lawyers and rubbish collectors. With a slim parliamentary majority of just two seats, Prime minister Kostas Karamanlis is faced with a plethora of problems not least of which is the thorny issue of the naming of Greece's northern neighbour. Greek foreign minister, Dora Bakoyianni has vowed that Greece will not allow the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia apply for either NATO or European Union membership with the name Macedonia.
Tags: Europe | Greece | Macedonia | Kostas Karamanlis | pension reforms | Politics | STRIKES | World
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Strikes shut down much of Greece
Just as the Greek power company (DEH) and striking unions negotiated a compromise limiting the length of black outs hitting the country, other striking workers brought the country to a halt with a three -hour stoppage that saw banks, public transport and public other services shut down today.
Tomorrow sees the start of a 48 - hour stoppage by lawyers, doctors, chemists and court officials. Bank workers are also set to strike on Thursday and Friday. The current wave of stoppages and demonstrations are set to culminate in a nation wide protest on the 19th March, one day ahead of the parliamentary vote on the conservative government's controversial pension reform plans.
Tags: Greece | Thessaloniki | Black Out | ασφαλιστικο | protests | STRIKES | World
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Courts intervene in Greek power strike
The on off saga between the striking Greek power unions and the courts takes yet another turn as the head of DEH (the state power company), Takis Athanaspouolos sought the intervention of the public prosecutor over the power cuts that have affected much of Greece. Both the management and worker's union blame each other for the blackouts.
Representatives of the GENOP unions argue that they have enough staff in place so that the outages should last no longer than 40 minutes and that the blame for longer outages lies with management.
Next Tuesday will see the start of another wave of strike action which will effect banks, the Greek stock exchange, electricity supply, rubbish collection and much of the public sector. The strikes are aimed at preventing the conservative New Democracy governement from passing legislation which would merge Greece's many pension funds with the larger, state - run IKA scheme.
Despite being re-elected last September Greek prime miniter, Kostas Karamanlis's government has been rocked by a series of scandals which have see his party's standing in the polls drop dramatically.
Tags: Greece | Black Out | ασφαλιστικο | απεργεια | ΔΕΗ | Ελλαδα | power outages | STRIKES | World
Saturday, March 08, 2008
blogging in the dark
The alarm in the building has gone off as we face our third power cut in 24 hours. I thought I'd write this before the battery on the laptop dies. Now, where exactly did I leave the matches and candles?
Friday, March 07, 2008
Strikes out power in Greece
For the third day running large areas of Greece have been without electricity. Strike action by the power worker's union, GENOP - DEH has meant that power outages have hit many areas of the country. The strike was called in protest against the governement's plans to merge worker's pension funds with the state run IKA system.
In a sudden u-turn today the state - run power company (DEH) has withdrawn it's attempts to have the courts rule the strike action illegal after high level DEH management staff refused to testify against the GENOP - DEH union in court according the GENOP website.
The power outages are just part of a wider series of strike action by public sector workers that have affected Greece over the last few weeks so adding to the conservative New Democracy government's woes. Rocked by sex and finance scandals prime minister Kostas Karamanlis is facing a difficult time pushing through parliament unpopular pension reforms.
Tags: Greece | DEH | New Democracy | pension reforms | power cuts | public sector workers on strike | STRIKES | World
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Pharmacies will also be closed Wednesday through Friday next week. During those days, only a handful of pharmacies will be open in each major city for emergencies. Details are available by calling 14944. Lawyers will also be on strike from today until the end of the week in protest at the measures drawn up by the government to open up their profession to more competition."
Kathimerini