http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_22/06/2013_505475
ERT workers refuse to vacate premises, gear up for rally on Sunday
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Sacked workers of the state broadcaster ERT that was shut down by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras last week, causing a rift in the fragile coalition and the departure of junior partner Democratic Left, have said that they will not vacate the broadcaster's former premises in the northeastern Athenian suburb of Aghia Paraskevi.
Hundreds of sacked workers of Hellenic Broadcasting Corp have continued to occupy the ERT's headquarters and maintain online and satellite pirate broadcasts since the government shut down the station and its terrestrial signal on on June 11 in response to mounting demands by foreign lenders to slash the size of the Greek public sector.
Dismissed employees continued with their pirate broadcast on Friday and Saturday despite a statement issued by the Finance Ministry calling on them to “evacuate the premises... to allow for the unhindered and immediate implementation of the Council of State’s decision,” a reference to a ruling by the court that approved ERT’s closure but called for its signal to be restored. The statement said authorities were drafting plans for the recruitment of 2,000 people to run a transitional broadcast service but did not specify the length of the contracts.
The union representing sacked workers responded defiantly to the ministry’s order, saying staff would stay put.
Meanwhile, the workers have said that they will continue their occupation of the premises and called for a solidarity rally to be held on Sunday evening.
Socar announces principal DESFA deal
Gazprom says it will not make an offer for DEPA should TAIPED launch a new tender for the gas company
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Azeri state-run energy giant Socar confirmed on Friday that it has reached a principal agreement with Greek state asset privatization fund TAIPED for the acquisition of a majority stake in the country’s natural gas transmission network operator (DESFA), but TAIPED sustained a blow at the same time, as Gazprom stated it will not make an offer if a tender for Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) comes up again.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan said on its website that, along with TAIPED, it is fine-tuning the final technical aspects of their agreement.
Socar President Rovnag Ibrahim Abdullayev released a statement in English saying: “This decision on purchasing DESFA is in true line with the existing high-level bilateral relationship between Greece and Azerbaijan as well as Socar and Greece’s leading energy companies. Socar has vast experience with natural gas pipeline systems in the Caspian region and is looking forward to start working in Greece as our first project of such type in the European Union. Socar is quite optimistic about the future of cooperation in Greece.”
According to TAIPED sources, the completion of the agreement is expected in the next couple of weeks, which would be after the Azeri government’s announcement on June 28 regarding its pipeline of choice for the transmission of Azeri gas to Western Europe between Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that would go through Greece.
On Friday the Environment and Energy Ministry announced the final text of the Host Government Agreement between Athens and the TAP consortium, which will be officially signed in the coming days.
“We now have all the necessary political agreements for the decision of Shah Deniz,” TAP managing director Kjetil Tungland said, referring to the Azeri gas reserve.
On the other hand, Russia’s state gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Friday it will not bid for DEPA in a possible new privatization tender, according to Reuters. Gazprom pulled out of the first tender at its second stage as it did not file a binding offer.
Asked whether Gazprom would bid again if there was a new tender in Greece, the head of Gazprom’s export arm, Alexander Medvedev, said, “No, we won’t go.”
Jobless rate to top 30 pct next year
Unemployment will soar above 30 percent next year, a report by the Center of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) showed on Friday.
The report published in the KEPE journal showed that the jobless rate this year will amount to 28.5 percent before climbing to 30.4 percent in 2014. Should this forecast prove correct, it will generate even more difficult conditions in society and the market: “This is a particularly negative development, but it is also inevitable given the continuing reduction in economic activity,” the report noted.
In this context, KEPE estimates that the economy will shrink by 4.09 percent this year, against a budget forecast for 4.5 percent, followed by a 0.55 percent contraction in 2014, while the government expects a return to growth to the tune of 0.6 percent next year.
KEPE also projects deflation of 0.18 percent this year and 0.12 percent in 2014.
http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/06/21/greek-finmin-calls-for-immediate-evacuation-of-ert-personnel-we-stay-here/
Greek Finance Ministry called for the immediate evacuation of the headquarters of public broadcaster ERT under occupation by the fire personnel. In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, the Ministry announced a plan for the compensation of the dismissed 2,656 ERT personnel.
In a short statement, the Finance Ministry calls for the personnel to immediately evacuate the building so that the government “can directly implement the decision of the Council of State” and that “the finance ministry gets access to financial/human resources data so that it can calculates compensation for several groups of former employees.”
On Monday and Thursday the Council of State ordered the immediate restoration of all television channels and radio programs of shutdown ERT.
From the side of ERT personnel, the first reaction to Finance ministry’s call was “ERT-personnel union and the journalists’ union will take the relevant decisions and respond to the government.”
One hour later, the president of ERT-union PROSPERT said that they will stay in the building, as this plan of restoring broadcasting on temporary basis would annul workers’ rights on unemployment allowance, among others.
Alarmed from the perspective of a possible violent evacuation, ERT personnel has been calling on colleagues, unions and activists to ‘take position’ and be on alert. Greek social media are on alert on the issue.
OPEN ERT – Free voice for the society via @ErtSocial
ERT personnel has been occupying the building since 11. June 2013, the day prime minister Samaras order the sudden shutdown and blackened ERT television channels. With the help of EBU ERT broadcasts on a 24-hour basis since its closure.
After a national and international outcry, the government agreed to temporarily reopen Greece’s public broadcaster and re-hire some 2,000 personnel with short-term work contracts, until the new public broadcaster is set up.
The finance ministry has taken over the ERT management.
On the occasion of ERT, Samaras coalition government suffered a defeat with junior partner Democratic Left to have withdrawn its four ministers from the government on Friday. As of today, the Greek coalition government consists of Nea Dimocratia and PASOK – for one more time….
PS they won’t dare send riot police to ERT, would they?
- See more at: http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/06/21/greek-finmin-calls-for-immediate-evacuation-of-ert-personnel-we-stay-here/#sthash.zk0BUDRv.dpuf
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