ITUC general secretary stresses dire straits of Greek workers

ITUC general secretary stresses dire straits of Greek workers

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Sharan Burrow presented the findings of an European survey conducted by the ITUC at a press conference held at the offices of the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) in Athens.


Noting that 91 percent of Greek workers had seen their income reduced relative to previous years, with 7 percent remaining at the same level and only 3 percent having any sort of increase in income, she warned that the dangers of social unrest were very real.



Burrow arrived in Athens as the head of an ITUC delegation on Sunday, during which she held talks with Greek trade unionists, workers in order to record violations of trade union rights in Greece and elsewhere in Europe.


She also met Labour Minister Yiannis Vroutsis and asked that Greece's minimum wage be restored to past levels so that people can live in dignity, urging respect for the decisions made by the social partners and the re-establishment of social policy agencies, such as the Worker Housing and Worker Welfare organisations.


Reporting on her talks with Greek workers on Monday, Burrows said the situation in Greece was "dire" and that she had met "frightened people, people afraid to have children because they did not know if they could secure their future".


She said this situation was tearing apart the country's social fabric and pointed out that when a nation starts to lose hope, then its faith in democratic institutions is also shaken.


Replying to press questions concerning her recent meeting with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and her talks with European Union representatives, and whether they had a position on the risk of social explosion, Burrows suggested that they were unaware of the possibility of social unrest "because they only thing they have studied so far are the numbers".


"The number express a picture but it is clear that the orthodox policies implemented up until now do not work" she said. When 50 percent of young people were unemployed and 65 percent were at risk of poverty, then the IMF and the EU had to rethink their advice", she added.


The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 153 countries and has 308 member organisations. (AMNA)