Greek protesters walk off the job, block property tax
* Rebels in ruling party oppose austerity measuresBy Yiorgos KarahalisATHENS, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Greek protesters tried to disrupt
collection of an unpopular new property tax on Thursday and
transport workers went on strike in a growing wave of protests
against harsh new austerity measures.With the socialist government of Prime Minister George
Papandreou trying to push new cuts through parliament to meet
demands from international lenders, opposition has strengthened
ahead of a planned general strike on Oct. 19 which is expected
to shut down much of the country.On Thursday, protesters occupied the printing offices of
Greek power utility PPC < DEHr.AT >, which is set to
collect the property tax, with a few dozen protesters hanging
banners reading: “We are not going to stop providing electricity
to the poor people even if they put us in jail”.Protests have spread to other sectors as well. The ancient
Acropolis, Greece’s most famous monument, was closed to tourists
and Athens was hit by strikes by garbage collectors and hospital
workers. Lawyers refused to appear in court.The wave of protests come as euro zone leaders scramble to
put together a new rescue plan to stave off bankruptcy and stop
the crisis spreading out of control.International lenders are demanding further painful reforms
but unions say the belt-tightening hurts only the poor and
middle-class and will drag Greece’s stricken economy further
into recession.The action at power company PPC underlines the challenge
faced by the government, which has included the property tax in
electricity bills to ensure it will be paid in a country where
tax evasion is endemic.PPC’s management said the bills would be printed anyway, in
another venue and at a greater cost but protesters said they
would continue their protest.”We came to stay … we are here to give a fight” said Nikos
Fotopoulos, president of PPC’s union GENOP-DEH, on Skai TV.Unions have planned a 24-hour, general strike on Oct. 19 to
protest against the new tax hikes, pension cuts and plans to put
tens of thousands of state workers on the road to redundancy.RECESSIONGreece is trapped in a deepening recession and fighting to
control a public debt expected to reach 162 percent of gross
domestic product this year, with most economists saying these
measures will not be enough to avoid a default.Euro zone countries are now considering asking banks to
accept losses of up to 50 percent on their holdings of Greek
debt, officials said on Wednesday, as part of a grand plan to
avert a disorderly default and stem a crisis that is shaking
financial markets worldwide.Inspectors from the European Union, the International
Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank concluded a review
of Greece’s progress on a first, 110-billion-euro bailout plan
on Tuesday.They gave the green light for euro zone finance ministers
and the IMF to release an 8-billion euro aid tranche Greece
needs to avoid immediate bankruptcy but said Athens was too slow
to implement reforms and warned it must step up efforts if it is
to continue receiving aid.Analysts expect ruling socialist party lawmakers to pass the
new austerity measures before an Oct 23 EU summit on the debt
crisis. But in a further sign of steep discontent among the
party ranks, former Labour Minister Louka Katseli threatened to
vote against a provision of the law changing labour rules.”I will not vote article 37 if the article is not modified,
Katseli told Mega TV late on Wednesday. “This article is
changing the collective agreements and leads to a deeper
recession our economy.”
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