Greek teaching union plans legal action against troika-induced austerity measures
Greek teaching union OLME has said it is planning to take legal action against the government’s plan to put thousands of teachers into a mobility scheme in which they would be given reduced pay ahead of being transferred to another post or dismissal.
Implementing the mobility scheme is one of the key conditions for Greece to receive aid from the troika of international lenders, but has been a thorn in the side of government from the start.
The government risked collapse in June as the smallest party in the coalition withdrew its support over the issue. And in July, talks with the troika stumbled ahead of the authorisation of a €8.1bn aid tranche after Greece missed a deadline to put 12,500 state workers into the scheme. The country was given an extended deadline and agreed to put another 12,500 workers into the scheme by the end of the year.
Speaking yesterday, the Federation of Secondary School Teachers (OLME) accused the government of embarking on “an assault against state education”. A four hour general strike by civil servants union ADEDY, local authority workers’ union POE-OTA, and OLME members in Klafthmonos Square, Athens against public sector reforms is coming to an end shortly.