Union opposes private sector pay cuts

General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) President Yiannis Panagopoulos on Friday stated that the troika (IMF-ECB-EU), the government and employers should “abandon any thought for pay cuts in the private sector”.

He pointed out that those responsible for state deficits are “the habitual tax-dodgers” and not the private sector employees who are “the country’s production force”.

The union president called on the government to respect and defend the institutional framework for collective labour bargaining and collective work contracts, adding that this is the only way to settle the terms and conditions for private sector salaries.