SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A woman chants slogans outside the Finance Ministry in Athens, on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greek Unions Call for General Strike September 26
Coalition government splits over austerity measures
Sep 13, 2012
Greece's largest labor unions called for a general strike on Thursday, responding to ongoing negotiations between the Greek government, its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, over drastic austerity measures. Negotiations reached a breaking point today as Greece's coalition government clashed internally over the depth of the cuts.
Protests broke out everyday this week after Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced a final proposal of austerity measures on Saturday. Since then, the 'Troika' -- the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank -- have pushed for even deeper cuts to the public budget with steps including large cuts to pension funds and public sector wages and mass lay-offs in the the public sector workforce, in exchange for a $39.6 billion bailout loan installment.
The left-of-center Pasok and Democratic Left parties refused the latest Troika demands today, clashing with Samaras in negotiations. The leaders vowed to prevent the government from cutting the 50,000 public sector jobs, as requested by the Troika.
On Thursday, 200 disabled people gathered outside the Finance Ministry, where Samaras was meeting with French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, to protest proposed benefit cuts.
"What we are saying is obvious: Blind and disabled people are not to blame for this crisis," Paraskevas Lambrou, a blind man from the central Greek city of Volos, told Associated Press at the demonstration.
"It is humiliating to be driven into poverty this way," he said.
The 24-hour general strike will begin on September 26.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Greece's largest labor unions called for a general strike on Thursday, responding to ongoing negotiations between the Greek government, its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, over drastic austerity measures. Negotiations reached a breaking point today as Greece's coalition government clashed internally over the depth of the cuts.
Protests broke out everyday this week after Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced a final proposal of austerity measures on Saturday. Since then, the 'Troika' -- the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank -- have pushed for even deeper cuts to the public budget with steps including large cuts to pension funds and public sector wages and mass lay-offs in the the public sector workforce, in exchange for a $39.6 billion bailout loan installment.
The left-of-center Pasok and Democratic Left parties refused the latest Troika demands today, clashing with Samaras in negotiations. The leaders vowed to prevent the government from cutting the 50,000 public sector jobs, as requested by the Troika.
On Thursday, 200 disabled people gathered outside the Finance Ministry, where Samaras was meeting with French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, to protest proposed benefit cuts.
"What we are saying is obvious: Blind and disabled people are not to blame for this crisis," Paraskevas Lambrou, a blind man from the central Greek city of Volos, told Associated Press at the demonstration.
"It is humiliating to be driven into poverty this way," he said.
The 24-hour general strike will begin on September 26.
Greece's largest labor unions called for a general strike on Thursday, responding to ongoing negotiations between the Greek government, its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, over drastic austerity measures. Negotiations reached a breaking point today as Greece's coalition government clashed internally over the depth of the cuts.
Protests broke out everyday this week after Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced a final proposal of austerity measures on Saturday. Since then, the 'Troika' -- the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank -- have pushed for even deeper cuts to the public budget with steps including large cuts to pension funds and public sector wages and mass lay-offs in the the public sector workforce, in exchange for a $39.6 billion bailout loan installment.
The left-of-center Pasok and Democratic Left parties refused the latest Troika demands today, clashing with Samaras in negotiations. The leaders vowed to prevent the government from cutting the 50,000 public sector jobs, as requested by the Troika.
On Thursday, 200 disabled people gathered outside the Finance Ministry, where Samaras was meeting with French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, to protest proposed benefit cuts.
"What we are saying is obvious: Blind and disabled people are not to blame for this crisis," Paraskevas Lambrou, a blind man from the central Greek city of Volos, told Associated Press at the demonstration.
"It is humiliating to be driven into poverty this way," he said.
The 24-hour general strike will begin on September 26.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.