Attica municipalities to close from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Municipal services in Attica will be closed today from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., as workers stage a protest rally at noon at Klafthmonos Square on Stadiou Street, the Regional Association of Attica Municipalities (PEDA) said.

Mayors and municipal workers are protesting budget cuts, which they say are far more extensive than those suffered by central government. According to figures cited by PEDA, the national budget for local authorities has gone down from 5 billion euros in 2009 to an estimated 2.5 billion euros in 2012.

“Local authorities have seen their funding decline by 50 percent in the past three years,» PEDA’s statement said. «Because of this policy we do not have the minimum funds to exercise social services and we are unable to cover our operational costs, something that will inevitably lead to social collapse, but also to the abolition of the public character of sanitation and social services.”

Ekathimerini.com