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Greek unions call strike as economy halts decline
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Greek unions call strike as economy halts decline
AFP - Thursday, May 13
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Pensioners read a newspaper in downtown Athens. Greek trade unions called for a general strike against government budget cuts, as new data showed the Greek economy halted its steep decline but remained in the grip of recession.
ATHENS (AFP) - – Greek trade unions on Wednesday called for a general strike against government budget cuts, as new data showed the Greek economy halted its steep decline but remained in the grip of recession.
The May 20 strike called by the main public and private sector unions, GSEE and Adedy, will be the fourth since February and the second this month.
Three people died in a firebombed bank last week during the last strike.
The strike call came as the two unions, which represent 1.3 million civil servants and private sector workers, geared up for a rally in central Athens.
The unions are strongly opposed to a wave of tax hikes, spending cuts and a sweeping pension reform imposed by the government to clinch a badly-needed loan from the EU and the IMF whose first instalment is expected on Wednesday.
"The IMF will not stop asking sacrifices from people of labour. Its recipes are catastrophic. The government should categorically reject them," GSEE union chairman Yiannis Panagopoulos said in a statement.
He called the government's proposed pension reform "socially unjust," adding: "This bill enforces harsh austerity on pensioners and future pensioners, transferring a major load on the new generation."
The economy meanwhile paused its downward slide with a contraction of 0.8 percent in the first quarter -- the same level as in the last quarter of 2009, according to a preliminary estimate issued by the state data agency.
"The figures were quite good. They were better than expected," said Constantinos Vergos, an analyst at Cyclos Securities in Athens, explaining this was partly due to reforms to curb Greece's rampant underground market.
The contraction also eased slightly on a 12-month comparison to minus 2.3 percent from a downwardly revised minus 2.6 percent last quarter.
But worse results are expected, with the government forecasting that the economy will shrink by 4.0 percent over the year as a whole.
The recession had accelerated last year, with quarterly contractions of 1.0 percent in the first quarter, 0.3 percent in the second quarter, 0.5 percent in the third quarter and 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter.
Greece was also preparing to receive a first dose of 5.5 billion euros (7.0 billion dollars) from the International Monetary Fund under a 110-billion-euro bailout loan agreed with the EU and IMF in exchange for harsh austerity cuts.
"It should be sent by the end of the day to the Bank of Greece," a finance ministry source told AFP. The finance ministry has said it expects a further 14.5 billion euros early next week from the European Union.
The involvement of the EU and IMF in rescuing the crisis-hit Greek economy -- a first for a eurozone member state -- from default and the cuts enacted by the government to clinch the bailout have angered many Greeks.
Recent opinion polls, however, show a majority of Greeks grudgingly accept the need for the austerity measures.
Some economists have warned the austerity measures will plunge Greece into an even worse recession and stifle growth but many say the reforms being enacted -- like the overhaul of the pension system -- are long overdue.
A pension reform unveiled this week would reduce average retirement payments by seven percent by 2030 and cut the highest pensions by up to 14 percent.
The reform would also raise the average effective retirement age to 63.5 from 61.4, curbing Greece's widespread early retirement schemes.
Labour Minister Andreas Loverdos has warned that the pension system faces "collapse" in 2015 without reform.
A parliament vote on the pension reform expected later this month could be tough as the government holds a slim majority.
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