09 July 2013

Kathimerini: Greek government submits multi-bill needed to secure next bailout tranche

A multi-bill bundling together a raft of reforms was submitted in Parliament, for what promises to be a vehement debate ahead of a vote which must be held by July 19 and must be successful if Athens is to secure the release of the first sub-tranche of a €6.8 billion instalment of rescue funding.

The bill comprises 108 articles; most of these set out the details of a new tax code while others detail plans to increase the central government’s oversight of local authority spending and plug a funding shortfall of some €1 billion attributed to the debts of the country’s main healthcare provider (EOPYY), among other reforms.

The legislation also includes a provision dictating that courts must rule by November 1 on some 6,000 appeals by civil servants on short-term contracts whose terms have expired.

As the bill goes to Parliament – which is to discuss it at the committee level before its scheduled submission to the House’s plenary session – the union representing local authority workers (POE-OTA) is planning to scale up its protests against the reforms. Workers are to start sit-ins at town halls and in buildings housing municipal offices across the country. Municipal employees are also planning to walk off the job over the weekend which will result in disruptions to garbage collection and other services.

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© Kathimerini