Labour Minister accepts pension cuts and blames IMF

The meeting between Labour Minister Giorgos Katrougalos and Euclid Tsakalotos and the representatives of the institutions was concluded without reaching an agreement, while the Labor Minister is trying to have some of its counter-proposals accepted.

Commenting on the lenders’ stance, Mr. Katrougalos said: “If it was not the issue of supplementary pensions, we would have reached an agreement. The IMF wants blood”.

Referring to the “safety net” of 1,400 euros, which will not apply if greater cuts are required, he said that “the Greek side can be more flexible in order to strike a happy medium”.

He also reassured that “there are no longer differences in replacement rates based on which the future pensions will be calculated”.

The lenders are asking the Greek government to cover a fiscal gap of 700 million euros from the supplementary pension cuts. This means that the supplementary pensions will be decreased by 21 -23% leaving unprotected also those who get in total a 1,400 euros pension per month.