Greek parliament approves further austerity measures [View All]

[Hannah Bell]

Greece has agreed to reduce its public spending deficit to 7.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011. Last month Eurostat revised upwards the 2009 public deficit to 15.4 percent of GDP from the previous 13.6 percent. As a result, the 2010 public deficit is to be revised upwards to 9.4 percent of GDP—which is over the 8.1 percent target agreed with the IMF.

The budget includes “concrete measures of cutting expenditures and increasing revenues, to a total of €14 billion”. Health ministry spending is to be cut by €700 million and significant pay cuts imposed at state-run firms. Value Added Tax (a sales tax) is to increase from 11 to 13 percent and its lower level rate, which includes foodstuffs and other items like books, is to be increased to 6.5 percent.

The government also announced that legislation breaking up the “closed shop” professions will be announced early next year. Many workers, including truckers, pharmacists, engineers, lawyers, notaries, accountants, architects, and dentists, will be adversely affected. It is expected that thousands of jobs will go as a result.

In its economic assessment, the Finance Ministry predicted that unemployment will increase from 12.1 to 14.6 next year.

In contrast to the assault on working people, the budget included a boon for the corporations, with the tax-rate of non-distributed corporate profits falling to 20 percent from 24 percent.

These measures come on top of the drastic austerity already imposed on the Greek population in the last year...

The parliamentary debate was held as strikes continued in Athens and across Greece. Bus and subway drivers in the capital have been holding rolling strikes for two weeks. Piles of uncollected refuse sacks have also become a common sight over the past three weeks due to an ongoing strike by collectors. On Wednesday, local government employees walked off the job from 11 a.m. until the end of their shift. Other workers participating in strikes for several hours that day included Hellenic Telecommunication employees, and primary and high school teachers.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/dec2010/gree-d24.shtml