AVGI

“BUTCHERS!” : The European Parliament on the Troika

European Parliament: The troika acted, “like a butcher, provoking a social tsunami,” with an explosion in unemployment, business closures, and poverty according to the Commission for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion which is investigating the consequences of the Memoranda of Understanding.

Unemployment: A new record high with 28% unemployment in November. 1,382,062 workers are living the nightmare of unemployment. Only 170,015 of those receive benefits. The young people are particularly affected with 61.4 % without work.

Facing Dismissal: An uncertain future for 85,000 contracted public employees. Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced an audit of the credentials of those whose fixed-term contracts had previously been made permanent under legislation sponsored by MPs Pavlopoulos, Reppa Skandalidis and V. Papandreou.

ELEFTHEROTYPIA

A New Looting of Social Security Funds

The Commission is targeting their reserves

The European Commission is eyeing the reserves of social security funds of member-states under the pretense of …promoting growth. A ‘secret plan’ by Brussels has been brought to light by the news agency Reuters which sees that there will be ‘utilization’ of private capital as the liquidity of the banks is limited. All of this is planned for after the European elections in the second half of 2014. The crux of the matter is that in one way or another (and especially with the bail-in of Cypriot banks) in Europe a debate has begun over the use of private capital, a topic which is kept alive by statements, analyses and leaks. 

ETHNOS

The Halyvourgiki steelworks fall silent

194 of 263 workers are placed in a mobility scheme to avoid the plant’s closure.

Explainer – What is Halyvourdiki?

Halyvourgiki S.A. (Greek: Χαλυβουργική Α.Ε.) has historically been one of the main steel producers in Greece and the second largest after Viohalko.[1] It effectively started business in 1925 as a trading company, moving into wire production in 1932 and steel production in 1938.

Production was modernized and expanded after World War II, with the company moving production into a new factory in Elefsina in 1953. The following years were its “golden age”, as a construction boom connected with the Greek economic miracle lead to a huge increase in demand for steel.

Its huge, brightly colored facilities are a landmark of the Elefsina area.

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON

Praktiker: Questions over a suicide

Stefanos Valavanis, 49, worked at a Praktiker branch in Egaleo until Saturday, the 1st of February when he “quit voluntarily”. On Monday he was found dead, having hanged himself. “They abandoned him, pushing him towards death,” his coworkers say who describe a climate of fear, disciplinary actions and unilateral wage cuts. 

DIMOKRATIA

Revenue Secretary Charis Theocharis is a Mini-Stalin

  • Invasion of privacy: He asked insurance companies to inform him who owns works of arτ
  • Irritation from the PM’s office in Maximou over his actions. They prevented his latest move at the last minute.
  • The Finance Ministry denies fines for leaking personal data.