THE ADDITIONAL BURDENS FOR THE WORKING – POPULAR FAMILY BY THE MEASURES OF THE MEDIUM-TERM PROGRAM AND THE OTHER ANTIPOPULAR MEASURES
The government tries to promote a new package of brutal antilabor – antipopular measures to further bleed the working – popular income for the benefit of the plutocracy. These are choices of strategic character, which are pre-designed for many years now, are fully applied in this phase with the alibi of the financial aberration (external debt – financial deficit) in the context of the capitalist crisis. Through this note, we want to present briefly this new package of measures will cost to a working – popular family, to pensioners etc. according to the announcements of the government.
WORKING RELATIONS
1. Young people aged 18 to 25 will be hired with a salary 20% lower than the one of the National General Collective Labor Agreement (NGCLA) this means a gross salary of 592 euros per month, with individual agreements of settled period of time of 2 years. This measure will be applied even for these people who are recently hired and are covered by sectoral contracts, which exceed the NGCLA.
These changes must be viewed in combination with the general reduction of salaries, through the individual and business contracts, formally and informally. Simultaneously, the abolition of the contribution to organizations like Manpower Employment Organization (OAED), Workers’ Housing Organization (OEK), Workers’ Tourism and Culture Organization (OEE) is designed with the target to exclude the young people from the unemployment benefit and other social allowances.
2. The duration time that the employers is extended from 6 to 12 months can increase the working time from 8 to 10 and 12 hours work per day. By this way the overtime payment is abolished, the work is intensified, the family and individual planning is unbalanced, causing irreparable damages to the organic and mental health of the working class, thus increasing the probabilities of labor accidents. It paves the way for the final abolition of the 8-hours work per day.
3. The people who have signed individual agreements of a settled period of time are kept hostages since these agreements are to be extended from 2 to 3 years. This means elimination of the compensation, benefits extra power to the big-employers to terrorize and blackmail the workers.
4. Through the individual agreements between employers and employees any obstacle the trade unions could put in the implementation of the flexible working time is abolished by law.
ΤΑΧΑΤΙΟΝ
1. Indirect taxes: It is planned for the products currently taxed at 13% to be taxed at 23%. This will lead to a sharp increase in the prices of fast moving consuming goods and of many services (foodstuff, electricity, water, transport, taxis, gas etc.). This means that the workers, the popular strata will pay very expensive for all these.
Some examples: A family of four members spends around 300 – 400 euros per month, maybe more to cover the basic needs in supermarkets, street markets etc. In this calculation products that are already taxed at 23% are excluded e.g. sanitary articles, detergents etc.
So, we are talking about an increase in the expenses of the family budget 400-600 euros per year and more, i.e. +40€ to +50€ per month, an amount that is considerable for a family.
Concerning the rest ; assuming that a popular family pays 400-1.000 euros per year for electricity and in some cases even more, if there are some special needs (if there are people who suffer long-time diseases, infants, old people etc. in the house), there will be additional charges of more than 60-120 euros per year. In these expenses the municipal taxes and the taxes for the National Television are not included. Concerning the mass transportation means, if we assume that two members of the family use them regularly, the cost is calculated at 15-20 euros per month, 250-300 euros per year. We must also calculate that the majority of the popular families are forced to also use taxis, thus the expenses for transport are further increased due to the increase in the VAT. Within all these we must also include that during a year some other expenses may occur like maintenance and repair of houses etc, that will be further increased due to the new increase in taxation, thus family budget is further loaded.
Some other examples:
v The annual taxation of cars is increased by 20%:
Assuming that a family has got only one car, there will be extra charges from 30-80 euros annually. In many families there are motorcycles, which will be also charged extra.
v Special Consumption Tax of the non-alcoholic drinks:
The imposition of a tax like that is estimated that will increase by ten cents per carton e.g. refreshment or juice. If we take into account that we have 5-6 warm months per year in our country, the annual expenses for a family only for drinks will be approximately increased 150 to 200 euros annually.
v The equation of consumption tax on heating oil and the diesel oil.
Until May 31, the average price of heating oil was 0.7904€/liter. Correspondingly, the average price of diesel oil was 1.4055/liter. Let’s see what the extra charges for the households will be during the winter season according to the new measures.
Assuming that a house needs 1,000 liters of heating oil:
Calculating Example:
The cost for the winter season (01-10-10/31-05-11) was: 794€
The cost for the new winter season (01-10-11/31-05-12) will be: 1,405€
This is a difference of 600€ and more. These amounts are extremely increased if there are people who suffer long-time diseases, infants, old people etc. in the house or if there are very cold waves during winter or spring.
It must be noted at this point that this increase equates the differences on the expenses of the popular families all over Greece, since even though there are reduced taxes for some services in specific areas (around the borders), they will be equated with the implementation of this measure. These areas typically use much more than 1,000 liters of heating oil per year due to weather conditions and they usually pay for it more expensively.
2. Direct taxes: The reduction of the tax-free threshold from 12,000€ to 8,000€ and maybe to 6,000€ means extreme increases in taxation at 400 – 600euros per year, while for the self-employed the increase in taxation may exceed 1,000euros, due to the possible complete elimination of the tax-free threshold. The taxation will be further increased by the drastic elimination of the tax-free that is planned by the government, while in the same direction of tax increases are the increases of the objective values in a series of taxes and fees.
THE HIGH PRICES
It must be also estimated the waves of increases that will occur because of the tax increases of the rates of tariffs in all the aspects of the social and economic life.
It is estimated that the increases of this nature will range from 300-600€ annually per every popular family.
Conclusion: The dramatic appreciation that there is with the most optimistic estimates are that will be removed from every popular family about 2,000€ per year from the implementation of these measures.
Social Security – Wages – Pensions – Social Benefits
The plunder continues: on social security, wages, pensions and social benefits.
· Apart from the above, the government is prepared to decrease the primary pensions.
· The supplementary pensions are also extremely cut from 10% to 50%
· The reduction of the amount given as lump sum for the public sector employees is planned to be at least 10%.
· Within 2011, 300 million are restricted from the expenditures for the unemployment benefits of Manpower Employment Organization (OAED). The expenditures are now 1.8 billion euros.
· The wages in private and public sector are further reduced due to the increase of the labor contributions for social security by 1% to 3% for the Manpower Employment Organization (OAED). Thus, the enterprises are subsidized for the social security contributions of the workers under the pretext to fight unemployment.
· Medical benefits will be cut and this will lead the workers who have got social security coverage to pay the public hospitals, the health-tests, hospitalization etc. The exclusion of hundreds of drugs from the list of the prescribed also shrinks the working popular income, since they are forced to pay the whole price of the medicines. New increases in the contributions to the funds of farmers, self-employed workers and scientists (OGA, OAEE and ETAA) will further aggravate the lives of small and medium –scale farmers, the small-scale tradesmen, the scientists either if they are employees or if they are self-employed.
· Additional burdens are loaded to workers because of the cuts of benefits in Workers’ Housing Organization (OEK), Workers’ Tourism and Culture Organization (OEE). Thousands of popular families and pensioners who covered some of their needs by the benefits of these organizations like (vacations, books, theatres, housing loans, rent subsidies etc) will be hit. When these cuts are broadly applied, some of the popular needs will be compressed, some will be directly and fully paid, and some will remain completely uncovered.
· We emphasize the fact that at every popular house one or all the members of the family, if they are employed, have received wage-cuts during the last year, either in the public or in the private sector (in the private sector the formal average cut is 7%). The real situation is even worse since the multiple wage reductions are not declared in the Labor Inspectors’ Body (SEPE).
By the end of 2011 it is estimated that informal and formal wage reductions will be dramatically increased.
· We have to add to all these that a large percentage of full-time jobs have become part-time, or rotation jobs etc. according to the data of the Labor Inspectors’ Body (SEPE).
Abstract:
We can say without exaggeration that besides the measures of immediate collection, the extra expenses for every working – popular family will exceed 1,000 euros and in some cases much more if there are some extra needs e.g. health issues, construction contingencies, natural disasters, raising of children, education etc.
Hence, the total blow to the popular-working income can exceed the 3,000 euros per year for the majority of the popular families.
The analysis of these measures can help us to explain more evidently that the exploitative nature of the capitalistic system is not restricted to the exploitation at work place, but it is extended throughout the sphere of activities of the working-popular families, that contribute to the reproduction of the labor force.
