Government agencies, public transportation services and tax offices were closed on Wednesday in a large-scale effort to protest against the austerity measures set to be imposed by the EU/IMF bailout, which was, in its ideal form, set to remedy Greek’s debt problems. Included in the strike were many hospital workers and the staff of several state schools.
In order to receive the proposed bailout, the Greek government committed to implementing ausetiry measures which will include salary cuts and layoffs for thousands of people nationwide. The strike was spearheaded by Greek’s primary labor unions, ADEDY and GSEE, which represent nearly half of the nation’s workforce. In one interview, GSEE spokesman Stathis Anestis expressed his belief that “The new measures are just extending the unfair and barbaric policies which suck dry workers’ rights and revenues and push the economy deeper into recession and debt.” The goal of the strike was not only to bring publicity to force Greek government officials to reconsider their planned austerity measures.
The execution of the bailout was already being questioned in recent days since Greek officials announced that even with strict austerity measures, Greece will not be able to meet the demands placed upon the country as part of the bailout conditions. In the meanwhile, EU officials continue working on plans to increase bank capital to reign in the region’s debt crisis, as Moody’s warned yesterday that it may be issuing future downgrades for European nations as the region’s banks continue to suffer. In Greece specifically, banks are negotiating a bond swap aimed at reducing the nation’s debt, which would cost investors approximately 21%. According to Bloomberg data, Greek 10-year bonds trade for about 39 cents on the euro and two-year notes for about 43 cents.
