Hundreds of Greek pensioners and workers marched in central Athens on Friday, protesting against plans to overhaul an ailing pension system as the government sought backing for its proposals at home and in European capitals.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said the pension system is on the verge of collapse; but reforming it would challenge his resolve to implement measures demanded by Greece’s international creditors, who must sign off on the plan.
About 100 protesters supporting the communist-affiliated union PAME unfurled a huge banner outside the prime minister’s office, slamming the plan as “a guillotine for the pension system.”
Photo: EPA
Hundreds more public sector workers and pensioners marched in the city’s center.
Tensions flared briefly when the crowd broke past a line of police in riot gear and headed towards Tsipras’ office. Police responded with tear gas.
“The government tricked the workers and the farmers into thinking that it would create a better society with more justice and less unemployment,” 74-year-old pensioner Babis Kattis said. “Pensioners are about to become beggars.”
Greek Minister of Finance Euclid Tsakalotos began a tour of European capitals to discuss debt and pension problems with counterparts in Rome, Lisbon, Paris, Helsinki, Amsterdam and Berlin.
According to the proposals Greece sent its lenders on Monday, all six main pension funds are to be merged into one, meaning that main pensions could be cut by up to 30 percent.
It sets a lower limit at 384 euros (US$419.39) per month and sets a ceiling of 2,300 euros on the maximum monthly pension outlay. The average monthly pension is now about 850 euros.
“The crisis has blown up the foundations of the social security system,” Katrougalos said. “We want to give the social security system hope, so that the average pensioner does not lose hope that they will continue receiving a pension.”
Greece must implement the reforms to conclude the first review of its multibillion-euro bailout.
The government plans to submit the proposal to parliament by the end of the month and vote on it in early February, a government official told Reuters.
It secured the cautious backing of four employers’ associations on Thursday, who said they were not opposed to “a small, temporary rise in social security contributions.”
However, opposition political parties have said they would not back the plan when it is tabled in parliament and the country’s biggest private sector union GSEE said on Friday it planned labor action against the reforms “to avoid the worst.”
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
RSS