- Title: GREECE: Communist labour group strikes over government economic measures
- Date: 18th December 2009
- Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (DECEMBER 17, 2009) (REUTERS) THOUSANDS OF LABOUR MOVEMENT 'PAME' MEMBERS GATHERED IN CENTRAL ATHENS MEMBERS WAVING FLAGS
- Embargoed: 2nd January 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Greece
- Country: Greece
- Topics: Economic News
- Reuters ID: LVA75JXHGFTH4RZIDHYI39VCFQIF
- Story Text: Workers from a communist led labour union stage protest in Athens after calling a 24 hour strike over the government's economic plan to bring the country out of debt.
Members of the Communist Labour Movement PAME protested in the streets of Athens on Thursday (December 17) over the government's latest announcement of measures to bring down the country's ballooning deficit and debt.
The workers from the communist led trade union, said the measures threaten rising unemployment, wages and pensions.
Public hospital doctors, contract workers, musicians, and port workers joined strike, as well as journalists, angry over a series of job losses in the media.
The protesters gathered in front of parliament shouting "It wont pass" referring to the government's economic plan.
"(I am worried about our) pensions, wages, unemployment. The young people feel insecurity and so do we. Our health system is going to hell, the same with education. How can we not be here? How can we just sit at home under the circumstances?" said pensioner Poppy Pickny.
"Greece does produce wealth, Greece does have wealth, but it is eaten away by the powerful, not by us (the workers)," said coffee shop employee Dimitris Stegakis.
Greece's two largest labour unions however, GSEE and ADEDY, did not join the strike on Thursday, waiting to see how the government measures will unfold.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced this week a series of measures to tackle the country's huge deficit and debt, which has raised alarm bells in Europe.
Papandreou's plan includes freezing wages, pensions, and hiring, raising taxes on higher income earners, cleaning up wasteful public spending in various sectors as well as a cut in public spending, and overhauling the pension system.
While labour groups expressed concern over the measures, markets, who would have liked to see wage and pension cuts, said they fell short.
Papandreou has said his plan will keep money circulating and boost the economy, and low income earners should not be punished for the crisis with wage cuts.
Greece has suffered its second downgrade of its credit rating in a row in the last two weeks, pushing down stocks and causing mounting criticism abroad that the governments economic strategy was not enough to reign in its large debt.
The country's finance minister has been touring European capitals to outline his government's plan to concerned EU partners. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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