News / EU

Thousands protest pension reforms in Greek capital

Thursday, 21 January 2016 6:11 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 January 2016 7:20 PM ]

Lawyers protest against the government’s planned pension reforms Athens, Greece, January 21, 2016. ©AFP

Thousands of people have poured onto the streets of the Greek Athens to voice their outrage at the government’s planned pension reforms demanded by international lenders under the debt-ridden country’s third bailout package.

White-collar professionals, including doctors, lawyers and engineers took part in Thursday’s event outside the Greek parliament.

Waving their neckties and banging drums, the demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Quit, Quit,” “Take back this law, I can’t pay you, Alexis,” in reference to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

“No to the law that dumps us in the street,” read one of the banners held during the 6,000-strong protest.

Greece’s leftist government recently drafted pension reforms, which will increase social security contributions and recalibrate future pensions.

“According to this proposed law, 84 percent of our earnings will go to taxes and other contributions (to the state),” said an engineer who introduced himself as Haris.

Dinos Diamantis, another engineer, also criticized the reforms, accusing the Greek officials of forcing people out of their profession.

“With this law … all engineers and self-employed professionals are closing their offices and they are being forced to leave Greece, just like the 200,000 scientists and professionals that have already left,” said Diamantis.

Engineers wearing their protective helmets shout slogans during a protest against the government’s planned pension reforms Athens, Greece, January 21, 2016. ©AFP

Lawyer Panayiota Bourletidou, described the legislation as both punishing and illogical, warning that it will take away about 80 percent of a self-employed professional’s income if combined with tax thresholds.

In July last year, Greece signed a deal with its creditors – the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – to receive an EUR 86-billion (USD 96-billion) bailout in exchange for fresh austerity reforms in the cash-strapped Mediterranean state.

Tsipras agreed to the demands for austerity measures by lenders in exchange for the bailout deal. The decision triggered outrage from Greeks, who argue that the premier came to power on an anti-austerity platform.

Greece has already received two bailouts in 2010 and 2012, worth a total of EUR 240 billion (USD 272 billion) from its creditors following the economic crisis in the Southeast European country back in 2009.

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