Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-06-02
CONTENTS
[01] ND Sec't Meimarakis meets with OTOE labour union's leadership
[01] ND Sec't Meimarakis meets with OTOE labour union's leadership
Ruling New Democracy secretary Vangelis Meimarakis on Thursday met with
the leadership of the bank employees' union (OTOE) only days before the
group's declared 48-hour strike to protest the prospect of pension
reform in two large state-run banks instead of a sector-wide solution.
Days after a ground-breaking agreement between the state-run telephony
utility (OTE) and its employees' union (OME-OTE) over a
1.6-billion-euro early voluntary retirement package, the government is
eying another crucial public sector deal that will create a new pension
fund for Emporiki Bank and Agriculture Bank.
Afterwards, Meimarakis charged that certain circles are attempting to
give the appearance that the government is on a collision course with
wage-earners and the unions. He added, however, that talks are
continuing with each side's arguments being tabled, while decisions
will be taken in support of the public good and employees.
On his part, OTOE president Dimitris Tsoukalas sounded a diametrically
opposing tune, saying that "we are in a war, and this will be confirmed
with our industrial action ... we're in a dialogue because even in the
greatest of wars dialogue continues."
He also repeated his union's demand for a unified pension fund to
include all bank employees.
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