PM wants a fairer Greece
Encouraged by Monday’s agreement between employers and workers over pay raises, the prime minister attempted yesterday to put across a more compassionate side to his labor reforms which, he said, he was determined to carry through. «We are working for a society which is productive and progressive,» said Premier Costas Karamanlis, speaking at the Economist conference in Athens. «A society with more cohesion, solidarity and justice.» Although the government attempted to stay out of the recent conflict between the Federation of Greek Industries (SEV) and the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE), it was dragged into the argument over collective contracts and pay raises. So, this week’s agreement between the two sides, which will see workers’ pay increase by 10.9 percent over this year and next, came as a welcome relief for Karamanlis. However, turmoil continued within GSEE yesterday as members from unions affiliated with the Communist Party and Synaspismos Left Coalition accused the leadership of GSEE of making too many concessions. The head of Greece’s largest umbrella union, Christos Polyzogopoulos, said the agreement was an «honest compromise» and accused the dissenting members of simply trying to make political capital by objecting to the terms. Karamanlis applauded SEV and GSEE for reaching an agreement. «They displayed responsibility and social sensitivity,» he told his audience. New Democracy has stoked opposition from unions because of its labor reforms, which have included an end to lifetime tenure in the public sector, but Karamanlis wanted to make it clear yesterday that he was not targeting workers with his policies. «The competitiveness of the Greek economy cannot be based on the low cost of labor,» he said. «It must be derived from productivity and quality and from the use of new technology, research and innovation.» Karamanlis repeated his call for other political parties as well as workers and business owners to support his reforms so that Greece could make faster progress. His call, however, came on a day when PASOK heavily criticized New Democracy for its behavior after Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis failed to stop his party’s supporters from chanting abusive slogans at a rally at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ahead of today’s student council elections. The slogans were targeted against Socialist leader George Papandreou.
