Roundup: Greek farmers step up protest against pension reform

Greek farmers are gearing up action against the government's pension reform bill which, if implemented, will demand considerable increases to social security contributions and taxes.

The reform is a key element to conclude the first review of Greece's new third bailout program which was sealed in the summer of 2015.

For the past two weeks, farmers have responded to the controversial bill with mass blockades across the country, including blockades to customs at the Greece-Bulgaria borders.

The protesters also request tax-free diesel and abolition of VAT on farming equipment, the settlement of overdue loans to avoid home foreclosures.

The situation looked heated on Wednesday just outside of the capital of Greece, where hundreds of local farmers from the outskirts of Athens gathered to block a motorway in the Mesogeia area just off the Athens International Airport for three hours.

Despite its proximity to Athens, the area of Mesogeia enjoys a long rural tradition, particularly in the area of winegrowing, going back to ancient Greece.

"There has been winegrowing activity in this area continuously for the last five thousand years. We did not have to move elsewhere because until recently winegrowing was profitable enough," said 53-year old Christos Sideris, a winegrower who has lived and worked in the area for his entire life and who also participated in the Wednesday blockade close to the airport.

But investments in infrastructure in recent years, including the construction of the Athens International Airport and the Attiki Odos motorway system have taken their toll to local farming. Sideris, like many farmers, believes that the planned government pension reforms will give the coup de grace to an already strained rural economy.

"We make this demonstration here because the Greek government intends to pass certain measures which will eliminate us. If these measures pass, we will not be able to remain farmers. We are talking about social security and pension measures," Sideris told Xinhua.

The 53-year old was also quick to point out that the downgrading of farming activity in the area, some 30 kilometers off the Athens city center, will also deal a hard blow to the capital which demonstrates a marked lack of parks and green spaces compared to other European urban centers.

Sideris originally planned to bequeath his grape vines to his son. Instead, in light of the various difficulties, including increasingly dwindling selling prices, he has prompted his son to seek work as a factory worker.

"My family has been growing grape vines for many generations now. That's how we have always made ends meet. And here we are today, we have reached the point where we will not be able to do that if the new measures pass because we will lose our money and we will not be able to make ends meet," he added.

Wednesday marked Sideris' 15th consecutive day on the road. Like many farmers, he seems unwilling to step down on his protest, unless a solution with the government is worked out. To this end, he has defied fatigue and occasionally harsh weather conditions.

The case of 85-year old Dimitris Tsordas, another lifelong resident and winegrower of the area, tells an even grimmer story.

Supporting himself through farming over the decades, the retired Tsordas who receives a meager pension has been forced in recent years to resume his winegrowing activities in order to pay for the punishingly high property tax of his small Mesogeia house.

"Things have been disastrous in the last few years. There is nothing for us. Grapes are sold at very cheap prices, fertilizers are expensive. Young people are not interested in growing vines anymore and they are right. You can't blame them," the 85-year old said.

As a symbolic representative of a fast-vanishing generation of Mesogeia farmers who once thrived, Tsordas feels that Greece without a profitable rural economy is a country doomed to destruction.

"What exactly can farmers earn right now? They have come to a standstill. They have no support from anybody, anybody at all. Unfortunately, the entire country is committing suicide. Greece should be able to produce oil, wine, wheat, cotton. When you dispense with all of it, what is there left to do?" Tsordas said.

According to the 86-billion-euro third bailout program, the government is committed to save at least 1.8 billion euros (2.02 billion U.S. dollars) this year from the proposed pension reform.

Political analysts warned that the pension system reform will be the biggest challenge the government will face in parliament in coming weeks as the ruling coalition controls a slim majority of 153 seats in the 300-member strong assembly. Enditem