Graffiti in Athens is a reflection of contemporary situations and public sentiment, and the deep crisis and recession in Greece
(ANSAmed) - ATHENS - The worst prophecies for Greece seem to actually be taking place and every day which goes by, the situation just seems to worsen. Today it's the turn of the national insurance, while today again, the Greek statistics institute, ELSTAT, informed that the unemployment rate has reached a new historical peak of 22.6% in the first three months of this year compared to the 20.7% of the previous quarter.
The warning on the disastrous situation of the private sector pension funds was sent by Antonis Roupakiotis, ad interim minister for Labour and National Insurance, who declared that the national insurance funds of the Greek private sector "are at breaking point" and that nobody knows whether the institutes will be able to pay the expected sums this summers. Then, he unhesitatingly added: "On the basis of the data I am in possession of, I foresee that by July the pensioners should begin to worry." "All the finances of the national insurance funds, especially those handed out by the State budget, are in bad shape," Roupakiotis said again, specifying that the OAED, the human resources agency (basically the employment agency) requires 260 million euros to pay the unemployment funds.
The minister also defined the unemployment subsidies as "humiliating" and pointed out that only one unemployed person out of five effectively receives it. Roupakiotis also said that about 500 union employees have spent months without salary and that the programmes of social tourism, which give the workers paid-for holidays, have been suspended.
There is also bad news for the state employees. Roupakiotis proposed a series of measures which concern the lowering of salaries for state employees by the body which is to release the funds, the institute for the Insurance of State Employees (TPDY). According to the proposal by the minister, from now on those who will have the right to the total salary will only be the ones with at least 25 years of service. For the employees who have between 12 and 25 years of service, the minister proposes to hand out the insurance gathered during the years worked with the addition of the interests but without the revaluation linked to inflation and other parameters.
The employees who have between 6 and 12 years of service will instead receive 70% of the insurance accumulated plus the interest. Lastly, those who have less than 6 years of service will be entitled to nothing.
The objective of this measure, according to the minister, is that of diminishing the amount of people who are owed a settlement and in this way reduce the Institute's deficit, indebted for over 1.5 billion euros. The proposal, which no doubt will raise many controversies and anger between government and unions, will be examined by the government that will win on June 17. At the moment there are 53,000 state employees waiting to receive their settlements whereas the average time one must wait to receive their end of service allowance is of over four years.
Speaking of health assistance, Greek pharmacists have informed that they will continue their strike until the Institute for Health Services Supply (EOPYY) will extinguish the debts owed them for the period which runs until April 2012.(ANSAmed).
