Latest news with #STAMOSPROUSALIS
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thousands protest in Athens as strike over wages halts ships, planes and trains
By Angeliki Koutantou and STAMOS PROUSALIS ATHENS (Reuters) - Thousands of Greeks gathered in Athens on Wednesday to demand higher wages to cope with rising living costs and a one-day strike left ferries docked at ports, flights grounded and trains at a standstill. Along with air traffic controllers, seafarers and train workers, municipal workers and bus and metro workers in the capital also walked out. Greece has emerged from a 2009-2018 debt crisis which led to rolling cuts in wages and pensions in turn for bailouts worth some 290 billion euros. Economic growth, seen at a 2.3% this year, is now outpacing other eurozone economies. The conservative government has increased the monthly minimum wage by a cumulative 35% to 880 euros since 2019. But many households still struggle to make ends meet amid fast-rising food, power and housing costs, Greece's largest labour unions say. "The workers' salary only gets us through the 10th or the 15th day of the month, it cannot cover basic needs, such as housing and food, education and health," said private sector workers' representative Dina Gkogkaki, 52, who joined the protests in the central Syntagma Square on Wednesday. The General Confederation of Greek Workers, which represents more than 2 million private sector employees, says that Greek workers are buying 10% fewer goods compared to 2019 due to inflation and has called for substantial pay rises and collective labour contracts. Greece's minimum salary in terms of purchasing power was among the lowest in the European Union in January, behind Portugal and Lithuania, Eurostat data showed. At 1,342 euros a month, the average gross salary still stands 10% lower than in 2010, when Greece signed up to its first bailout, according to labour ministry data. The country is outperforming its 2% primary surplus targets, leaving some room for some wage increases, but the government says it must be fiscally prudent to limit interest levied on its debt, which is still the highest in the euro zone. It has promised to bring the minimum wage up to 950 euros by 2027, as it targets an average gross monthly salary of 1,500 euros, closer to the EU average. But monthly expenses for food, utilities and housing have been growing fast. "It's a gap that keeps getting bigger because of price hikes and inflation that affects energy and medicines," said Angelos Galanopoulos from the Seafarers Union. Public sector workers, who were hit by measures to reduce a spendthrift state, have joined the strike, demanding annual bonuses that were scrapped over the past decade. "Our wages are stuck at 2011 levels, without Christmas and Easter bonuses, and sometimes without proper working rights," said Diana Liakou, 58, a kindergarten tutor. Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis told an economic conference in Delphi, Greece that he shared Greek workers' concerns, but that reducing taxation was still a key priority for the government.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As Gazans return north, some Israelis near border fear another attack
By STAMOS PROUSALIS SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - While for some in Gaza there is joy at seeing what might remain of their homes in the north, for some Israelis their return evokes fears of another possible Hamas attack. After 15 months of war, now paused with a ceasefire deal that came into effect on Jan. 19, the sight of columns of people on foot or in vehicles along the main roads leading north left some Israelis in nearby communities worried for the future. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Sderot, in sight of Gaza, was one of a string of communities attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants and other gunmen broke through the security barriers, eventually killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages. "I live with my family right there, and the terrorists were on the street, we were locked inside the house, and where did they come from? From northern Gaza," said 48-year-old A. Ben-Dayian, whose brother was killed in the attack. "So now we are back to the same situation more or less, we have loads of Gazans and within them loads of terrorists." Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed almost 47,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Health Ministry figures, and left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble that will take years to rebuild. Most of the population was displaced. A six-week initial ceasefire phase agreed by Israel and Hamas includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, as well as an increase in aid and for hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian detainees. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister and head of the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party, said images of Gazans returning north and white Toyota vehicles driven around the Gaza Strip by uniformed Hamas militants were "evidence of the heavy and terrible price Israel is paying for this deal". Palestinians heading north have told Reuters they are hoping for calm and for an end to war, with many saying they thought they would never have the chance to return. Those making the trip north have passed through checkpoints in a central zone of the enclave where scanners check for concealed weapons in cars and other vehicles. Along the roads on either side of the checkpoint, in the so-called Netzarim corridor, Hamas police maintain order, while engineering units with sniffer dogs check the roadway for unexploded ordnance. But for Israelis living nearby who Reuters spoke to, the security checks meant nothing. For them, the threat has only been paused during the phased deal. "Everything that happened on Oct. 7, at this moment when they let the Nukhba (Hamas militants) back (to northern Gaza), will repeat itself," said 68-year-old Sderot resident Alex Spector. (Writing and additional reporting by Steven Scheer in Jerusalem; Editing by Alison Williams)
