Cuts, cuts and more cuts! Primarily in Greece’s public sector and state expenditure, whereas pensions will be trimmed for one more time. The 3.6-billion-euro Contingency measures package demanded by the International Monetary Fund,in case Greece will not meet the targets of 1.75% of GDP Primary Surplus in 2017 and 3.5% in 2018, will hit Greeks hard and thus after 8 years of strict austerity.
Loyal to the new IMF’s position that “taxes bring fairly not much”, the additional IMF austerity will impose drastic reduction across state expenditure that will affect everybody. The measures will reportedly be in the form of:
- further decreases in salaries of civil servants
- further decreases in main and supplementary pension
- removal of all tax-breaks
- further cuts in social benefits
- more cuts in education
- lay-offs in the public sector
- freezing of hiring
In the context of Review Talks Greece and lenders have allegedsly agreed for the tax-free threshold to go down to 8,120 euro form 9.500 currently.
The IMF had been insisting on lay-offs in the public sector since the first bailout in 2010, the only lay-offs were imposed by New Democracy/PASOK government in 2013 with the closure of state broadcaster ERT, the dismissal of municipality policemen, school guards and a couple of hundreds of cleaners in the Finance Ministry. The lay-offs of total some 7,000 people were of short survival as the school guard appeal and cleaners appealed to court and returned to service, municipality policemen were absorbed by the Greek police and the ERT opened again in 2015, thus occupying more than 3,000 people in total as the former ERT employee were re-hired and the NERIT employees hired by the Samaras government had labor contracts. With the eyes fixed on the bailout agreements and the cuts, thousands of civil servants went into early retirement with 25 years of service ever since 2010. an unknown number went into regular retirement.
According to some Greek media, the IMF package would include also new raises in Value Added Tax that has already been increased several times and the rises skyrocketed the food prices.
The €5.4 billion austerity package of the European lenders currently under Review includes further cuts in main and supplementary pensions, cuts in social benefits, lowering the threshold for tax-breaks, anyway. Cuts have been repeatedly impose since the first bailout of 2010.
What the IMF and Germany want from the Greece is to legislate as soon as possible, so around middle of May, for a total of 9-billion-euro austerity for 2016-2018. To legislate for the IMF package is for PM Alexis Tsipras politically impossible. already Greek media started to speculate about the dates of “early elections” and these could be June 12th or June 19th.
The Review conclusion is a precondition for lenders to release a bailout tranche 0f estimated 5-5.7 billion euro. In July has to pay €3bn to the ECB and €1bn to the IMF.
PS cuts, cuts and more cuts sink the economy, but apparently the lenders and the IMF know better. I just wonder, why did the lenders & the IMF concluded the Greek program Review talks in previous years when there were no lay-offs in public sector. But I have posed this question before, didn’t I?
Actually so many people have retired and taken early retirement over 8 years that services like post office, tax office, court workers are seriously understaffed leading to delays, inefficiencies.
Just saying.
of course.
Only some 200.000 “real” public sector workers left, another myth debunk:
dimokratianews.gr/content/60539/i-alitheia-gia-ton-terastio-dimosio-tomea
I don’t think 200K left
Right, sorry, Leftöver
Cavafy says it better than me…
In a large Greek colony, 200 B.C.
That things in the Colony are not what they should be
no one can doubt any longer,
and though in spite of everything we do go forward,
maybe—as more than a few believe—the time has come
to bring in a Political Reformer.
But here’s the problem, here’s the hitch:
they make a tremendous fuss
about everything, these Reformers.
(What a relief it would be
if no one ever needed them.) They probe everywhere,
question the smallest detail,
and right away think up radical changes
that demand immediate execution.
Also, they have a liking for sacrifice:
Get rid of that property;
your owning it is risky:
properties like those are exactly what ruin colonies.
Get rid of that income,
and the other connected with it,
and this third, as a natural consequence:
they are substantial, but what can one do?
the responsibility they create for you is damaging.
And as they proceed with their investigation,
they find an endless number of useless things to eliminate—
things that are, however, difficult to get rid of.
And when, all being well, they finish the job,
every detail now diagnosed and sliced away,
and they retire, also taking the wages due to them—
it will be a miracle if anything’s left at all
after such surgical efficiency.
Maybe the moment has not yet arrived.
Let’s not be too hasty: haste is a dangerous thing.
Untimely measures bring repentance.
Certainly, and unhappily, many things in the Colony are absurd.
But is there anything human without some fault?
And after all, you see, we do go forward.
nice to see someone quoting Cavafy here 🙂
Happy to oblige. Kali Anastasia se olous.
Autocorrect… Kali Anastasi of course