– Sciopero di 24 ore del pubblico impiego in Grecia contro le misure di risparmio del governo, previste in €800mn per il 2010, che prevedono licenziamenti, congelamento dei salari e tagli delle gratifiche, pari ad una media del 10%; sono scesi in sciopero i salariati di scuole, tribunali, uffici pubblici, ospedali, ferrovia, controllori di volo.
o Lo sciopero, indetto dalla federazione sindacale del PI Adedy, aveva come parole d’ordine: No ai tagli salariali: No al restringimento dei diritti sociali. No al peggioramento della sicurezza sociale, alla riduzione delle pensioni e all’aumento dell’età pensionabile.
o Dopo l’incontro con il presidente francese Sarkozy, il primo ministro greco ha annunciato la determinazione del governo aa attuare il piano di austerità per il risanamento del bilancio pubblico (-4% nel 2010, portando il deficit al’8,7% del PIL); il debito greco ammonta a €300 MD.
Piuttosto limitato il numero dei partecipanti allo sciopero organizzato dal sindacato Adedy, circa 2000-3000; altrettanti i partecipanti ad una manifestazione separata organizzata dal sindacato PAME, appoggiato dai comunisti.
By ALKMAN GRANITSAS
– Thousands of Greek civil servants walked off the job Wednesday to protest a wage freeze and cuts in bonuses, with unions vowing further strike action over the Socialist government’s austerity plan to solve a debt crisis that has roiled markets around the world.
– Wednesday’s strike led to the closure of schools, courts and public offices, while state hospitals operated with a skeleton staff and rail services were cut. Flights into and out of the country were canceled by Greece’s two main carriers, Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines SA, as air-traffic controllers joined in the walkout.
Civil servants in Greece strike and protesters gather outside the national parliament as country’s financial crisis deepens.
– The government is touting a plan to save 800 million euros this year that includes freezing wages and hiring.
– A demonstrator threw streamers towards police forces blocking the way to the Prime minister’s office in central Athens during a massive demonstration marking the 24-hour strike in the public sector on Wednesday.
– The strike was called by the public-sector umbrella union[e]Adedy and comes just a day after the Greek government announced details of a public-sector wage freeze and cuts in civil-service bonuses. "No to the reduction in salaries. No to the downgrading of social rights. No to the downgrading of social security, the reduction in pensions and the increase in retirement ages," Adedy declared in a statement posted on its Web site.
– Greek Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou Wednesday said his government is determined to fully carry out the austerity plan devised to stabilize the country’s strained public finances, after a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"We are absolutely decided to make sure it is implemented in every detail," Mr. Papandreou said in Paris, after a lunch meeting with Mr. Sarkozy and ahead of a meeting with French Prime Minister François Fillon. "As regards the economic crisis, I assured him that we have the will to implement the stability and growth plan," Papandreou also said, referring to Sarkozy. "We are ready to do whatever is necessary," he said, adding that "just recently, we have taken further measures," without elaborating.
– On the Greek government’s goal of cutting its deficit by 4% in 2010 to 8.7% of gross domestic product, Mr. Papandreou said: "We are ready to take any measures" to guarantee that "we reach this goal."
– Greece remains under intense pressure from the European Union[e]and international financial markets as it tries to slash a bloated budget deficit that hit an estimated 12.7% of gross domestic product last year, more than four times the EU cap of 3%.
The Greek government Tuesday announced measures to cap public-sector salaries and reform the country’s tax code in a bid to meet EU budget rules by 2012.
– As well as freezing public-sector salaries and cutting supplemental incomes to civil servants by an average of 10%, the measures also include a freeze—and in some cases a reduction—in salaries and bonuses for the prime minister, senior government officials and officials at state-owned enterprises.
Fears that Greece could default on its giant €300 billion ($413.4 billion) debt has sent jitters through financial markets across Europe amid fears of contagion to other weak euro-zone members, like Portugal and Spain.
Meanwhile, several thousand public-sector workers gathered in the center of Athens for a march on the Greek Parliament earlier Wednesday, chanting slogans and carrying banners that read: "Not one cut in wages or pensions will go to paying for this crisis."
Elias Zografos, a 55-year-old high-school physics instructor, said that Greece’s low-paid teachers were bearing the brunt of the cuts. He estimates that teachers, who now earn about €1,200 a month, would see at least €70 shaved off their monthly salaries.
"The public sector is being hit hardest, and especially the poorer classes," he said. "This crisis is just a game for foreign bankers. But it’s not a game, it’s our lives they are playing with."
– However, the protest was relatively small, with only 2,000 to 3,000 workers joining in. A similar number took part in a separate demonstration organized by the Communist-backed PAME union.
– Adedy President Spyros Papaspyros told reporters he was satisfied with the level of participation in the strike and said his union[e]would take part in another, previously announced private-sector strike by umbrella union[e]GSEE Feb. 24.
"We are progressing with a new strike on February 24," Mr. Papaspyros said. "That way, we are creating a dynamic struggle against this steamroller policy."