Greece general strike: Unions act amid cuts debate

[Jimbuna]

My daughter is going there on holiday next month...I might give 2 or 3 grand and have her buy me a holiday villa with a pool

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

My daughter is going there on holiday next month...I might give 2 or 3 grand and have her buy me a holiday villa with a pool

Ha,Ha great price

[Jimbuna]

Must have four bedrooms and a kebab maker on the rear patio.

[Gerald]

Police have fired tear gas in running battles with stone-throwing youths in Athens, where a 48-hour general strike is being held against a parliamentary vote on tough austerity measures.

Thousands of protesters have gathered outside parliament in the capital where public transport has ground to a halt.

PM George Papandreou has said that only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity plan would get Greece back on its feet.

If the package is not approved, Greece could run out of money within weeks.

Without a new plan in place, the EU and IMF say they will withhold 12bn euros of loans which Greece needs to repay debts due in mid-July.

'Declared war'

More than 5,000 police officers were deployed in the centre of Athens as the protesters marched towards parliament.

The rally started peacefully, but escalated into running skirmishes on the fringes of the main demonstration.

Hundreds of protesters with faces covered by scarves or gas-masks started throwing stones, debris and bottles at the police in one corner of the central Syntagma Square.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to keep them back.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13935400


Note: Update Record, 28 June 2011 Last updated at 17:05 GMT

[MH]

I don't know what to think about this whole deal.

Another victim of communism?

[Gerald]

You mean socialism? Leaving the euro would probably be a good option for the whole Union (EU) and then get them to start from scratch, replace the entire government .... and make sure that the people working after age 50 to get tax money, and take a harsh austerity program a few years.

[MH]

Some economist here said that Greece was never really ready to join EU with its economy.
Its was just politics.

[joea]

A great deal of ignorance on this thread.

[Gerald]

The Greek parliament has voted in favour of a drastic package of austerity measures intended to save the country from defaulting on its debts.

The proposed tax hikes and spending cuts have been deeply unpopular with the Greek public.

A nationwide 48-hour strike is under way and violent clashes are continuing in the streets of the capital, Athens.

Greece is heavily in debt and the package is needed to win the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan.

MPs passed the measures by 155 votes to 138.

They will hold a second vote on Thursday aimed at changing a law allowing the package to be implemented.
'No time to step back'

Ahead of the vote, PM George Papandreou urged MPs to approve the package by consensus.

He had faced wavering support from within his governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which has a slim majority, with 155 seats out of 300 in parliament. But in the end, only one Pasok deputy voted against the package.

Mr Papandreou says his austerity plan is the only way to get Greece back on its feet.

"We must avoid the country's collapse at all costs. Now is not the time to step back," he told deputies.

Were his 28bn-euro austerity package to be rejected, Greece could run out of money within weeks, as the EU and the International Monetary Fund want the measures implemented before they release more funds to help Greece pay off its vast debts.

But tensions are running high in Greece, where unions are angry that the government's austerity programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts that have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13960947


Note: Update Record, 29 June 2011 Last updated at 13:40 GMT

[Hottentot]

Originally Posted by joea

A great deal of ignorance on this thread.

Fortunately not anymore.