Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-02-01

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greece, Portugal seek closer cooperation

[02] Banks to stage 24-hour strike Monday

[03] Main opposition leader blames gov't for bank rift

[01] Greece, Portugal seek closer cooperation

"We have many issues of common interest. A programme to reducing fiscal deficits and to boost economic growth and employment. We discussed the two countries' stability and growth programmes and to implement our National Reform Programmes aimed to boost growth and employment in our countries," the Greek minister said.

" We have many problems in common, and we maintain a close policy cooperation. Today's meeting was another step forward in the framework of this close cooperation," he added.

In another meeting in Lisbon, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas met with Portugal's Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education Antonio Gago. The two ministers examined ways of further strengthening bilateral cooperation and discussed ways of European issues. They also discussed details of a bilateral agreement on Research and Technology.

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[02] Banks to stage 24-hour strike Monday

OTOE's executive committee also decided to organise a series of meetings with the political parties, to resort to the International Labour Bureau and raise a legal issue, calling on constitutional experts, the Bar Association and university professors to state their positions.

It also decided to convene a special conference to confront the initiative taken by the Greek Bank Union.

OTOE President Dimitris Tsoukalas said that the target and vision of bankers are not the operational but the individual agreements, adding that at least three out of the six bankers who addressed the relevant letter on Tuesday are acting on orders by the government and predicted that the banks' front will not be able to withstand pressure by OTOE and called on other major federations, including the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), to show their solidarity.

Later in the day, a meeting was held between OTOE's directorate and Employment Minister Panos Panayiotopoulos. Tsoukalas said that the employment ministry's leadership expressed support for collective negotiations and, although it lacks an apparatus to exert specific pressure on banks, efforts will be made, together with the economy ministry, to persuade them to agree to dialogue.

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[03] Main opposition leader blames gov't for bank rift

Papandreou spoke during a meeting of PASOK's Parliamentary group.

Among others, the former foreign minister charged that the government is simply watching developments from afar, as he cited a recent incident where an army jeep was stolen from within a military base, as well as the recent week-long power outage in a couple of islands due to collapsed pylons from inclement weather.

Additionally, he said the only consistent policy followed by the government over the past two years is an "attack on the middle-class and poor Greek citizen; a depreciation of the labour movement and a curtailment of employees' rights".

In reference to the decision by major banks' managements - National Bank, Emporiki Bank, Agricultural Bank, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank and EFG Eurobank -- to decline collective bargaining negotiations with the bank employees' union, OTOE, Papandreou called it an "attack that undermines basic democratic rights.

He also charged that the government was behind the move.

Gov't says no intervention

Earlier, however, the alternate government spokesman dismissed press questions citing "governmental intervention" in the collective bargaining process, while again stressing that the issue involves only social partners.

Spokesman Evangelos Antonaros also dismissed criticism of advance knowledge of the decision by the government, given that the state holds a major stake in three of the six banks.

"All of these institutions operate with private sector criteria," he said.

The spokesman also said he absolutely does not share what he called a "strange notion" whereby "the force of reasoning and employees' ability to demand their rights is cast in doubt."

Finally, in reference to PASOK's charges of "indirect government" collusion with employers' groups, Antonaros responded:

"PASOK would do better to focus on what it didn't do all of the years it was in power, as well as on the major omissions during its reign. Let the Greek people judge, as they do very well, the government's reforms".

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