Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has forwarded to the Parliament that his coalition government controls a bill that imposes more of the austerity measures he vowed not to implement and which begins the process of firing redundant workers hired for generations by his New Democracy Conservatives and their administration partner, the PASOK Socialists.
The reforms were demanded by international lenders in return for 6.8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) in new loans from the European Union and European Central Bank with another 1.8 billion ($2.3 billion) to be decided on later this month by the third leg of the Troika, the International Monetary Fund.
The package is all but certain to be decided after perfunctory debate because the government controls 154 of the 300 seats, enough for a majority, making arguments against the austerity package essentially useless.
The bill, which was posted on the parliament’s website, contained 109 articles including those detailing the redeployment of civil servants, which has sparked widespread protests.
Unsatisfied with the progress of long-delayed reforms, however, the Troika will dole out the loans in staggered bits, keeping the government’s feet in the fire to show it’s serious.
Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has reportedly said that Parliament has to approve the bill by July 19 in order for the heavily indebted country to receive the first instalment of the rescue funds. Greece needs to redeem bonds worth 6.6 billion euros ($8.46 billion) by mid-August.
The new round of reforms, which will see the layoff and almost certain firing of low-paid workers such as crossing guards, janitors, and municipal police officers, has sparked protests ignored by the government, just as have hundreds of previous demonstrations over the last three years as Greece proceeds full speed ahead with implementing the Troika’s orders.
Among the most contentious reforms are plans to redeploy thousands of civil servants — some 4,200 of them would have to be moved to other parts of the country’s vast bureaucracy by the end of July.
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