Monday, December 17, 2012

Cheap Greeks for sale

Kostis Hatzidakis, the Greek Minister of Development, recently proudly announced that Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods company, will from now on produce 110 of its products that it used to produce abroad, in Greece.

The country’s reduced labor rights has created a “business-friendly environment” and bring in “investments” and “development”, as they like to say. Greek employees will be paid 586 euros, the minimum wage today, down from 751 euros before the crisis, while for young workers under the age of 25 it stands at 510 euros: below the poverty threshold!. They will only have minimum labor rights. They will have to work 6 and maybe 7 days a week. They will only have a minimum of 11 hours rest before getting back to work, down from 13 that it was. And they will be extremely easy to fire without compensation. We know who pays for the crisis and we know who gains.

0.7% of the Greek population control 60% of the nation’s total wealth.

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