Greece, troika agree to reduce sell-off target, close to deal on civil servants
The Greek government continued its bargaining with the troika Friday as the two sides debated how Athens will meet its targets for a labor mobility scheme ahead of Monday’s Eurogroup, when eurozone finance ministers will decide whether to release another 8.1 billion euros in bailout funding.
The troika appeared to accept the government’s proposal for some 4,000 municipal police officers being included in the mobility scheme. They are to be transferred to the main police force after undergoing some kind of retraining. The details of the plan for the municipal police remained unclear Friday as Athens attempted to meet a target of 12,500 civil servants being included in the mobility scheme. Talks are due to continue Saturday.
Sources said that the government and the troika agreed Friday to revise this year’s targets for the privatization program after the collapse of the tender for gas firm DEPA. As a result, the 2013 target will be 1.6 billion euros rather than 2.6 billion. The sale of DEPA, which was due to bring in about 1 billion euros, is now being planned for the first half of 2014.
The government’s decision to shift municipal police officers to the main force was greeted with alarm by the POE-OTA union representing local authority workers. Union members held a protest Friday outside the Administrative Reform Ministry while talks with the troika were taking place. POE-OTA chief Themis Balasopoulos is due to meet Interior Minister Yiannis Michelakis on Monday to discuss the issue.
POE-OTA also announced a work stoppage for Monday. Its members will walk off the job at noon and will be joined by the civil servants’ union, ADEDY. Municipal police, meanwhile, will stay away from work tomorrow and Monday.
Speaking from Vilnius to mark Lithuania taking over the EU presidency, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that recent turmoil in Greece and Portugal should act as a warning that the euro crisis is not over and that governments need to remain committed to their adjustment programs.
“It is for me clear that the reaction of the markets was due to the fact that there could be a weakening of the determination of those countries” – Portugal and Greece – “in terms of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms,” Barroso said.
He repeated his call for emphasis not to be placed only on fiscal consolidation but also on “structural reform for development and the need for growth.”
http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/07/05/troika-greek-govt-agree-to-civil-servants-lay-offs-public-sector-declares-strike-jul-82013/
Greece’s public sector unions umbrella ADEDY will launch a half-day strike on Monday, July 8th 2013 to protest the upcoming mass lay-offs in the public sector. The strike will stat at 12 o’ clock noon. There will be a gathering at 12:30 at Karaiskaki Square in downtown Athens and a march to Ministry of Administrative Reform.
After 3-year delay the Greek government has no other choice but to accept the Troika demands to trim down the country’s public sector. At least on the paper …. because every time what-ever Greek government agrees on the paper but it never proceeds to fulfill the given promise.
This time the Troika was adamant on the issue and even used the same blackmail weapon as in the past when Greece’s lenders AND the Greek government wanted to push some austerity measures and force the Greek citizens to accept them: “Either reforms (wages, pensions, health care cuts, tax hikes) or no bailout money”.
This time the slogan was “either lay-off or no next bailout tranche.”
After the usual ‘tough negotiations’ Greek Administrative Reform minister and Troika agreed on the dismissal of 4,000 civil servants, the “transfer” of 12,500 people and “labor reserve” of total 25,000 people until the end of the year.
Labor reserve: The personnel will be sent home with 75% of the salary for 6-9 months. If no a new position will be found for them – to replace those who left the public service due to retirement – the personnel will be dismissed.
Transfer:
5,000 secondary education teachers will be transferred to primary education.
2,000 teachers will be on ‘labor reserve’
2,500-3,000 municipality personnel will be on ‘labor reserve’.
End of Municipality Police
HA! Why do Greeks need municipality police? Away with them!
There are 4,000 municipality policemen, 1,100 of them in the Greek capital with the four million inhabitants.
The Troika/Government plan foresees that the majority of municipality policemen (3,500 or more or less, it doesn’t make any difference) people will be transferred to Greek police and the rest will be dismissed.
Video: unionists boo the Troikans in general and IMF’s Thomsen in particular. They think, he cared? Unless his translator made the mistake to translate the Greek swearing into English.
Despite the agreement the Greek government has still to do a lot of work to fill the numeric gaps and meet the targets.
Yes, the numbers seem high because until now the government managed to dismiss a whole of four (4) civil servants. It did not manage to dismiss even those who have been charged and judged for breaching of duty, stealing money from the public service and/or committed other criminal acts.
ALAS! Now the masses will will get a kick in the ass and will be allowed to go home and be paid for up to six or 9 months with 75% of their former salary. Whether they were good civil servants or not. Whether they have jobless family members, mortgages, sick parents, studying children or whatever obligations.
Folks, I agree with the lay-offs of civil servants but not in the usual elephant-in-a-porcelain-shop Greek way.
And yet, the dismissals have to be seen in real world…
There is always a reason to mock about what happening in Greece – ALWAYS! 
PS typos! typos! typos! Those to be dismissed are not “people”, they are “numbers”.
http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/07/04/procedure-as-usual-troika-threatens-to-block-money-release-greek-govt-bets-on-delay/
“Cautiously optimistic”, “hard bargaining”, “anguish about the next bailout tranche”. I was not even impressed to hear this morning on television channels the reports about the “tough negotiations” between Greece’s lenders – the Troika- and the newly appointed Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis. High on the agenda of the two sides: lay-offs and personnel transfer in the public sector.
Athens has missed a June deadline to place 12,500 state workers into a so-called “mobility scheme”, under which they are transferred or dismissed within a year.
The Greek side follows the usual delay: “Give us some time”, “lists not complete”, “lost my pen”, “need a frappe, first”.
The international side follows the usual blackmail : “No reforms, no money”. The Troika sends its clear messages through the usual “EU source” who speaks out the threats on condition of anonymity. The strategy of fear. Packed in the famous anonymous “EU source”. A pack of a gang of blackmailers.
But gone are the times, where the Greek people would be scared to death upon hearing such threats. No a single drop of sweat is running down our temple.
We have nothing to lose because we have already lost (almost) everything during the last three years.
Nobody from us, average Greeks, cares if no fresh money will arrive in Greece. It is loaned money, that we will have to pay back and thus with high interest. It is money that comes to the country but reaches none of us, average Greeks. Money comes flying above our heads and it passes by.
To the argument “without bailout money the country would go bankrupt, would not be able to import fuel and medicine” I can say only that: “it’s not the country that is bankrupt maybe, but my private household certainly is. I have no money to buy the imported fuel and heating oil or gas, I pay almost 50% of my medicine anyway.”
So, dear Troika, do not threaten me with no money. You have to address directly the government during your face-t-face meetings . I do not feel I’m in any connection with your issues. It affects me much less than you could ever imagine. It’s an issue between you, the government and their voters.
Greek gov’t dies hard – as usual …
The Greek side fights hard against the Troika to protect the right to work and salary of its traditional voters’ pool: the civil servants. Furthermore, the Greek government certainly wants to avoid the unemployment rates skyrocketing even higher with a new army of jobless. How could PM Samaras’ success story be then justified if the number of jobless reaches one and a half million people?
Therefore, the Greek government tries hard to avoid the inevitable. Dismiss civil servants. It gives it’s daily fight against the Troika demands. “The Minister did not accept the Troika proposal to set the 12,500 public servants into labor reserve immediately,” I heard and read this morning.
As if the Greek minister had any chance to reject or accept. But the Greek side is up to delay. “The Minister proposed that those in labor reserve would not receive 75% of the salary for 12 months but for shorter time.”
What is the purpose of delaying the inevitable? A tiny win for the Greek side. “We fought and won” – or something like that.
At the very end, the Greek minister – any minister – will accept the Troika demand, will put his signature on a long list with names and state expenditure cuts but most likely, the lists will be put inside a locked drawer with a missing key.
The Troika will then return and ask new austerity measures to be paid by the usual idiots: the employed, the pensioners and the property owners,
PS “Been there, seen that” – apologies for repeating this every once in a while…
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