National Strike in Greece as Thousands More Face Dismissal

National Strike in Greece as Thousands More Face Dismissal

Brussels, 16 July 2013 (ITUC OnLine): Greek trade unions have organised a national strike today to try to head off thousands more public sector lay-offs, new taxes on workers, wage cuts and removal of employment protections.  The strike was called by the ITUC-affiliated GSEE and civil service union grouping ADEDY.  The education and municipal sectors are likely to be hardest hits by the new cuts.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said, “The austerity measures applied to Greece are an abject failure.  Further cuts will deepen the catastrophic social situation and set the economy back even further.  The authors of austerity have brought four years of recession.  With two-thirds of young people now unemployed, this is one of the most inept exercises of public policy in recent history.”

The GSEE has accused the European Commission/European Central Bank/IMF “Troika” of pushing families into poverty and devastation, and demanded “policies to combat unemployment and fight tax evasion rather than imposing new tax hikes on citizens who are already impoverished”.

ENDS

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