The traditional summer break that has allowed the conservative-led government of prime minister Antonis Samaras to enjoy relative calm on the streets is over. Trade unions are holding mass demonstrations in Athens – and some 65 cities and major towns nationwide – before protesters march on the Greek parliament. The union anger is directed at spending cuts worth nearly €12bn over the next two years that the country has promised the EU and the IMF to secure its next tranche of aid. The bulk of cuts are expected from slashing wages, pensions and welfare benefits, heaping a new wave of misery on the population.
English: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/26/greek-workers-begin ...
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/09/26/tens-of-thousands-of-greeks-marched ...
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.