Pension Cuts

This government has instituted measures which previous ones would never have considered. It tied up state assets by handing them over to the Asset  Development Fund, cut pensions, and passed a law lowering the tax-free threshold.

The IMF is also demanding an emergency plan to confront the prospect of thousands of court decisions ordering the reversal of memorandum-era cutbacks.

'Even the dread ENFIA real estate tax will be reduced [slightly] and there will be a hike in the minimum wage, which is now 586 euros gross monthly'

The aim of the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government is clear. It wants to win over as many social groups and strata as possible so as to avert an electoral trouncing.

Asked by Ta Nea about pension cuts, Angela Merkel's office has signaled that the Greek government must stay the course of reforms, as agreed to this past summer, upon the completion of the third and last bailout memorandum.

“All banks have exceeded targets as regards the resolution of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) and have passed the stress tests,” Tsakalotos stressed, noting that all four banks have capital adequacy and that there has been a rise in deposits.

The government realises that implementation of the measure will not just be a defeat for it, but will result in a real trouncing.

The IMF appears determined to make its views known on a political level, beginning with the representatives of eurozone member-states in the Eurogroup Working Group, which is set to meet in Brussels on September 20-21.

It is impermissible for government cadres to imply or clearly state that the cancellation of pension cuts is a given, when in fact there has been no tangible result from talks with creditors.

A Commission spokesperson cited Jean-Claude Juncker's statement that Greece's commitment to cut pensions must be met

The economic team is costing the measures to be included in a basket of handouts. It appears, however, that the focus of the transition to the post-bailout memorandum era will be pro-labour reforms of labour relations.

'The 2019 budget I believe will not include pension cuts, but rather measures to relieve vulnerable social classes and positive messages for the country, society, and working people,” Dragasakis said