The employees of insurance funds and employment bureau OAED have announced their intention to go on 5-day rolling strikes as of the 16th of September, in protest to their induction to the government suspension scheme and the overall conditions at the insurance funds.
The announcement was made at a press conference held by the federations of Labor Ministry employees. The employee representatives reported that 618 of their colleagues at OAED and insurance funds have been suspended, while since 2008 the staff has been reduced by 40%.
The employees claimed that the government has “abandoned the funds” and that the average pension is far less than what the Ministry of Labor has suggested. Furthermore, it can take 14 to 15 months for pensions to be issued.
The representatives also expressed their fear that main pensions will be reduced by 10%, supplementary pensions by 30% and that the lump sums will be abolished entirely.
Regarding unemployment, the OAED employee representatives reported that the real number of unemployed has exceeded 1.5 million and thanks to a number of reforms, thousands of seasonal employees will not be liable for unemployment benefits this year.
The strikes are being support by the POSE-IKA, POPOKP, OAED, OSYPE, POE-EOPYY and PSE-OAEE unions.
