The Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy ministry is working with Greece ‘s Public Power Corporation (PPC) on a plan to lower electricity rates, government sources said on Tuesday.
Responding to media criticism of a decision to improve the pay package of PPC staff, the same sources denied any government involvement and stressed that the decision was made during collective bargaining between the PPC’s management and trade unions.
Among others, the sources stressed that the negotiations on the pay agreement started in September and ended before the January 25 elections, ruling out the present government’s involvement. They further emphasized that not interfering with the process of collective bargaining, regardless of the ownership status of the companies involved and the outcome of negotiations, was a matter of principle for the present government.
“We will not, therefore, follow the practices of the previous governments that constantly intervened and always at the expense of workers,” they said, stressing the governments “absolute and complete support” for the freedom of collective bargaining as a fundamental labor right and a key weapon against austerity.
The Greek government sources also noted that the current PPC management that signed the agreement with the GENOP-DEH union had been appointed by the previous government.
The sources ruled out any increase in electricity rates to cover the increase in pay for PPC employees, noting that rates had not similarly decreased in recent years when employee pay was slashed. They said the first indications of the new government’s policy in relation to electricity cost and household access to power could be seen in the draft bill for the humanitarian crisis.
(source: ana-mpa)
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