What’s Up in Greece on Jan 17/12? tagged: , , , , , , ,

What’s Up in Greece on Jan 17/12?

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Very Mix

Workers are up in Greece today, following a strike call by the private sector unions umbrella GSEE. Workers vehemently oppose dumped wages below €751 gross per month and the abolishment of the 13th and 14thsalary that has often the function of ’catching up with inflation’ when pay-rises do not happen.

Several thousands protesters have flocked in downtown Athens and will march towards the Greek Parliament. However you will hardly get to know what’s happening as the public and private media (news agencies, tv, radio, newspapers) are on a 48-hour strike.

And yet. As the Journalists’ Association (ESHEA) does not recognize people who work at news portals as “journalists”, these ”unreal” journalists and photo-reporters work today and bring some footage and news from the protests.

This morning, thousands of residents of the Greek capital got stuck in traffic jams for several hours, regretting for having decided to go to work or go fix ’issues’. The 24-hour strike of the workers at the Athens Metro has formally prohibited many thousands passengers to reach their destination. For one simple reason: buses that used to take people directly from the suburbs to downtown Athens have been banned from the city centre. One has just to continue with the Metro. So when the Metro or the buses are on strike, you’d better get a cab… [I've complained in the past for this bus-metro-connections, it's an issue that get on my nerves. Really!]  

The Troika is supposed to arrive in Athens today – after the protest marches have concluded, I hope lol -. The representatives from IMF, the EU and the ECB, will be here after the Christmas break. When they left in the middle of December they had handed to Papademos government a long list with “DO’s. Now they’ re back for double checking the list and they brandish a whip and a memo handing at its tip: Either proceed with the reforms, or there will be no next bailout aid….

Under the lenders’ pressure, the turtle government of Greece decided to open 136 “closed professions” and remove all restrictions on the free exercise of these professions in fast-track procedures. The Finance Ministry hastily added a new amendment to the multi-bill currently at the Greek Parliament to avoid harsh criticism by the Troika. Then the provision to open 136 closed professions was actually tabled at the Parliament in May 2011 and the first closed professions were supposed to open in July 2011. Such thing never happened. Click here for the full list of the 136 professions to be opened.

IIF-chief Charles Dallara is expected in Athens tomorrow in order to resume negotiations on the Greek Bond Swap (PSI). It looks as if the IMF and Germany are holding the strings on the PSI and Greece just follows instructions. The PSI talks are a time-race against a Greek default and the consequent collapse of the euro zone.

Freezing temperatures across the country make Greeks feel they’ve moved a bit closer to the North Pole. Only Greeks in the South of Peloponnese, the island of Crete and the islands of Eastern Aegean seem to feel kind of better with temperatures reaching 12 degrees Celsius.

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