Spain - banking crisis regarding employment as layoffs bite , Pension contributions halted , Spanish bank unions announce strike - when does the shitte hit th fan in Spain ? Greece news of the day - more strikes across the economy , privatizations still moving slowly forard - what happens when Greece receives the last tranche from the current bailout scheme ( or how long before the next bailout ) ?

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/01/20000-layoffs-in-spanish-banks-40-pay.html

Monday, January 21, 2013 11:52 AM

20,000 Layoffs in Spanish Banks, 40% Pay Cuts, Pension Contributions Halted; Spanish Bank Unions Announce Strike; Protests Snowball; When's the Breaking Point?

Spanish banks have already shed 30,000 jobs in its banking crisis. Another 20,000 cuts are due in 2013, along with pay cuts and reduced pension contribution. In response Spain's Banking Unions Announce Strikes.

 Workers at three of Spain's bailed-out banks will stage strikes in coming weeks as they fight mass layoffs, unions said on Monday, spreading industrial unrest to a sector where walkouts have so far been rare.

While the banks, crippled by a property bubble that burst five years ago, have hogged headlines, employees have so far mostly kept a low profile even as protests become a way of life elsewhere in Spain.

But about 20,000 layoffs planned for 2013, almost 10 percent of the total, could reduce the workforce to levels last seen in 1975, data from the unions showed.

Alarmed at the scale of cuts, employees from across the industry will demonstrate on January 23, while workers from Bankia, Banco de Valencia and NovaGalicia Banco will strike on February 6 and hold partial strikes before then.

Protests are snowballing and becoming more visible, as bankers take to the street and join judges, doctors, bus drivers and garbage workers as strikes become almost a daily occurrence across recession-bound Spain.

As well as losing their jobs, workers at the likes of Bankia are being asked to take 40 to 50 percent pay cuts and many will see pension contributions halted for several years.

Many of Bankia's more than 20,000 employees also bought shares in its listing in June 2011 and face seeing their savings practically wiped out.

The deadline for negotiations between unions and Bankia is Feb 9.

Spain's banks have shed over 30,000 jobs since the start of the global financial crisis in 2007, data from the Comisiones Obreras union showed. With about 20,000 more set to be axed in 2013, the banking workforce could drop to 218,500 by year end.

When's the Breaking Point?

With 26% unemployment and rising, as well as corruption and fraud at the highest levels in government, I keep wondering when the breaking point will hit Spain.

All I can suggest is some time in 2013.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock



and news from Greece ........

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_21/01/2013_479589

Judges call temporary suspension of go-slow action Greek judges have decided to suspend their strike action until February 10 and returned to duty on Monday. Judges have staged daily go-slow protests since September in opposition to wage cuts, which have led to thousands of cases piling up at the country’s courts. Both unions said they will nevertheless battle the decision at the labor tribunal.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_21/01/2013_479590

Farmers warn of blockades over production costs Farmers in Thessaly, central Greece, on Monday parked their tractors in town squares to protest rising production costs caused by repeated hikes in electricity rates. Meanwhile, Greece’s farmers union warned of blockades should the government snub their demands for a meeting with the prime minister or the agriculture minister by Friday. Farmers, who have in the past used their tractors to block national highways and junctions, object to the government’s new tax law and policy on agriculture.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_21/01/2013_479593

Transport staff to go on with illegal strike Commuters are to face upheaval for the sixth day in a row on Tuesday after trade unions said they would press ahead with a 24-hour strike on the Athens metro and work stoppages on other modes of transport despite court rulings deeming the action illegal and abusive. There will be no metro service at all on Tuesday while the tram and Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) are to stop running between noon and 4 p.m. with buses and trolley buses suspending their services between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. It remained unclear whether the government would resort to imposing martial law and force the striking employees back to work, with government sources telling Kathimerini, “We will use all legal means at our disposal.” However the union representing the metro workers said in a statement that its action was a matter of principle and an expression of solidarity with two colleagues who, it said, “suffered acute heart attacks following the threats of the transport minister.” Earlier in the day, Development and Transport Minister Costis Hatzidakis lashed out at striking public transport workers, claiming that only a minority of employees have joined recent strikes. “There are rules and limits to strike action,” he said. “I’m afraid that the way things are developing, there is no respect for the rules or limits.” Hatzidakis gave figures showing that on January 17, when the metro workers were on strike, only 33 percent of employees declared they were striking and had their salaries withheld, as labor regulations demand when there is a walkout. The minister said that the following day, when other modes of transport were on strike, 48 percent of metro employees went without pay. On ISAP, 44 percent of workers were not paid, while on the tram, only 4 percent of employees forewent their day’s salary. “This is unacceptable and I can no longer hide it from the Greek people,” he said. Unionists are protesting the fact that employees have been inducted into the unified salary scheme for the public sector, resulting in their salaries being reduced. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_22/01/2013_479617 Eurogroup agrees release of 9.2bln-euro January tranche for Greece The Eurogroup has approved the release of a further 9.2 billion euros in bailout funding for Greece following Monday’s meeting in Brussels. In his last appearance as head of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker said Greece has met the requirements for January and that eurozone finance ministers would recommend to the European Financial Stability Facility to release the funding. “It is with satisfaction that we note all the prior actions for January were completed,” said Juncker. “In particular, an income tax reform has been adopted and end-user electricity prices for low-voltage customers as well as the levy on renewable energy sources have been adjusted,” the ministers said in a statement. “We welcome the commitment of the government to adopt a simplification of the income tax code by spring.” Of the 9.2 billion to be received by Athens, 7 billion euros will go towards covering bank recapitalization and resolution costs. In his last comment as Eurogroup chief, Juncker stressed the need for the eurozone to protect its periphery members. "I have great admiration and love for Greece and great admiration for Ireland and Portugal," he said. "I hope those countries will get recompense." http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_21/01/2013_479611 Samaras calls for faster action in privatizations  The head of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED), Yiannis Emiris, arrives at the Maximos Mansion for the meeting led by Premier Antonis Samaras. By Vangelis Mandravelis Prime Minister Antonis Samaras asked his ministers and the board of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED) to accelerate the privatizations program during a meeting on Monday at the premier’s office which included nearly half of the cabinet’s members. The meeting was held in the wake of a report by the International Monetary Fund that suggested that if the targets set for 2013 are not attained, the TAIPED board will have to be replaced by foreign experts. This contributed to a heavy atmosphere at the meeting at the Maximos Mansion. “I don’t want to hear ‘It will be done,’ but rather, ‘It’s done,’” Samaras is said to have told his ministers and the TAIPED chiefs. He asked Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis, Tourism Minister Olga Kefaloyianni, Merchant Marine Minister Constantinos Mousouroulis, State Minister Dimitris Stamatis, Deputy Environment Minister Stavros Kalafatis and Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras to speed up legislative and regulatory issues that are still pending and are hampering the smooth implementation of the sell-off program. Government officials say that the meeting identified a delay in the issuing of decisions, regulations and clauses by ministries that have joint competency in sell-off projects and whose seal is vital for the implementation of the program. Delays were attributed to middle-level officials stalling in the processing of clauses and regulations. Samaras reportedly asked for the privatizations of gaming company OPAP and gas companies DEPA and DESFA to be completed within the next three months, as that would secure up to 80 percent of the sell-off revenues target for 2013, amounting to 2.5 billion euros. Sources say that binding offers for OPAP will be tabled by April 4.