ZEIT ONLINE: Mr Panagopoulus, in Athens tens of thousands of people strike, to protest wage cuts. You are President of the largest Trade Union Confederation for the private sector (GSSE). Why keep on in this situation in Germany?Ioannis Panagopoulos: The strike was only decided on Monday. Apparently, the troika tried to blackmail the Greek Government rather than to negotiate with her. Our Government must accept the demands of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the EU, to get more loans. It is time that the German public finds out what is really happening in Greece!ZEIT ONLINE: Against which demands the troika aimed their protest?Panagopoulos: The international donors demanding cuts in salaries in the private sector. The rate of pay should generally fall by 20 to 30 percent. Thus, wages have been cut already by 14 per cent. Also, Greece is to reduce its minimum wage. Year this is around 10,000 euros at the moment gross. You subtract all special levies, about half is left - so 5,000 euros. People can no longer live with the money that they deserve.ZEIT ONLINE: Your trade union demands that the 13th and 14th monthly salary in no way should be deleted. In Germany there are surprise. There, many companies no longer even pay the 13th monthly salary.Panagopoulos: It's not about 13, 14 or 20 salaries. It concerns the level of annual salary as a whole. If we compare the rate of pay in Greece with the Pan-European level, is evident: the average salary in Greece has been in the crisis from about 80 to less than 70 percent of the European level. In the lowest pay grade, people earning only 52 percent of the EU average. On the other hand, the price level is significantly higher than the European average. In Greece they pay for a litre of milk currently 1.56 euros.ZEIT ONLINE: Trade unions consider the savings proposals wrong. What you offer as an alternative?Panagopoulos: We do not categorically say no. We have nothing against a more solid financial management, especially in the public sector. This is even an urgent need. But this excessive rigour destroying productivity in Greece not alone, but also in other parts of Europe. This policy leads directly into recession and rising unemployment.ZEIT ONLINE: Your country is in a serious economic crisis.Panagopoulos: We are in the fifth year of recession. Not even during or after the second world war there was a such long and deep economic crisis in our country. According to recent estimates, the Greek economy will shrink this year not 3.5 percent, but even by more than eight percent. Austerity measures must therefore be combined with a program of economic development. To do this there is nothing concrete so far.ZEIT ONLINE: How comes back growth after Greece?Panagopoulos: It has a short, medium and long-term EU plan for more economic growth type. Domestic demand should be stimulated not only in Greece, but also in other EU States. This is however not only about the European structural and cohesion funds, as it called for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. These funds cannot obtain Greece, because to promote a project, the State itself must muster half of the financing. But Greece has no money. To put it bluntly: we kindly ask not gifts, but more time and less stress. ZEIT ONLINE: In Germany, but there is considerable doubt that more money and more time enough.Panagopoulos: We recognise what the German people and the working people have done. We know that they have very limited their wage demands in the past 20 years. If but of Greece fundamental economic reforms within is required by only two or three years, is to be equated with a call to commit suicide.ZEIT ONLINE: Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy accuse a lack willingness to reform Greece.Panagopoulos: Both have stood up already, that it was wrong to their recipe to resolve the crisis. How can it be that in Greece with all reforms have been implemented, none of the objectives has been achieved? How can it be that also Portugal, though it has transposed a large part of the reforms, headed for a second aid package? Why is it successful in Ireland to come without any drastic layoffs and pay cuts were led on a better way?ZEIT ONLINE: The cause of the crisis is still in G
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The reforms are a call to commit suicide
ZEIT ONLINE: Mr Panagopoulus, in Athens tens of thousands of people strike, to protest wage cuts. You are President of the largest Trade Union Confederation for the private sector (GSSE). Why keep on in this situation in Germany?Ioannis Panagopoulos: The strike was only decided on Monday. Apparently, the troika tried to blackmail the Greek Government rather than to negotiate with her. Our Government must accept the demands of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the EU, to get more loans. It is time that the German public finds out what is really happening in Greece!ZEIT ONLINE: Against which demands the troika aimed their protest?Panagopoulos: The international donors demanding cuts in salaries in the private sector. The rate of pay should generally fall by 20 to 30 percent. Thus, wages have been cut already by 14 per cent. Also, Greece is to reduce its minimum wage. Year this is around 10,000 euros at the moment gross. You subtract all special levies, about half is left - so 5,000 euros. People can no longer live with the money that they deserve.ZEIT ONLINE: Your trade union demands that the 13th and 14th monthly salary in no way should be deleted. In Germany there are surprise. There, many companies no longer even pay the 13th monthly salary.Panagopoulos: It's not about 13, 14 or 20 salaries. It concerns the level of annual salary as a whole. If we compare the rate of pay in Greece with the Pan-European level, is evident: the average salary in Greece has been in the crisis from about 80 to less than 70 percent of the European level. In the lowest pay grade, people earning only 52 percent of the EU average. On the other hand, the price level is significantly higher than the European average. In Greece they pay for a litre of milk currently 1.56 euros.ZEIT ONLINE: Trade unions consider the savings proposals wrong. What you offer as an alternative?Panagopoulos: We do not categorically say no. We have nothing against a more solid financial management, especially in the public sector. This is even an urgent need. But this excessive rigour destroying productivity in Greece not alone, but also in other parts of Europe. This policy leads directly into recession and rising unemployment.ZEIT ONLINE: Your country is in a serious economic crisis.Panagopoulos: We are in the fifth year of recession. Not even during or after the second world war there was a such long and deep economic crisis in our country. According to recent estimates, the Greek economy will shrink this year not 3.5 percent, but even by more than eight percent. Austerity measures must therefore be combined with a program of economic development. To do this there is nothing concrete so far.ZEIT ONLINE: How comes back growth after Greece?Panagopoulos: It has a short, medium and long-term EU plan for more economic growth type. Domestic demand should be stimulated not only in Greece, but also in other EU States. This is however not only about the European structural and cohesion funds, as it called for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. These funds cannot obtain Greece, because to promote a project, the State itself must muster half of the financing. But Greece has no money. To put it bluntly: we kindly ask not gifts, but more time and less stress. ZEIT ONLINE: In Germany, but there is considerable doubt that more money and more time enough.Panagopoulos: We recognise what the German people and the working people have done. We know that they have very limited their wage demands in the past 20 years. If but of Greece fundamental economic reforms within is required by only two or three years, is to be equated with a call to commit suicide.ZEIT ONLINE: Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy accuse a lack willingness to reform Greece.Panagopoulos: Both have stood up already, that it was wrong to their recipe to resolve the crisis. How can it be that in Greece with all reforms have been implemented, none of the objectives has been achieved? How can it be that also Portugal, though it has transposed a large part of the reforms, headed for a second aid package? Why is it successful in Ireland to come without any drastic layoffs and pay cuts were led on a better way?ZEIT ONLINE: The cause of the crisis is still in G
