Primary school teachers clashed with riot police in Athens on Monday for the second time in under a week, during a protest against government plans to change public sector hirings.

The teachers say schools are under-staffed and are demanding the creation of additional permanent positions. They argue that an education ministry bill currently under public consultation is unfair to those with years of experience.

More part time workers

According to the latest available figures from the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA), which concern May 2017 and derive from employers’ declarations for employed workers, more than three in 10 workers had part-time work with average gross pay of 389.65 euros.

Out of a total 2,055,456 employees declared, 30.96 percent or 636,424 of them worked part-time. Their average daily wage was just 23.48 euros. While the average employment rate at enterprises increased 2.36 percent on an annual basis, the average daily wage fell 2.38 percent and the average salary was reduced by 0.09 percent. The average daily wage of full-timers came to 49.6 euros and the average salary to 1,152.19 euros.

Data from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue revealed on Thursday that in August alone – even before the start of payments for the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) – unpaid taxes amounted to almost 1 billion euros.

IAPR figures showed that expired debts to the tax authorities increased by 1.07 billion euros in August from end-July, reaching up to 8.55 billion since the start of the year. Of that 1.07 billion, 938 million euros comprises taxes that households and enterprises failed to pay.

The IAPR data showed that 3.85 million taxpayers and corporations owe the state a total of 98.2 billion euros.

The IAPR announced it implemented 132,452 confiscations from January to end-August, and is allowed to carry out forced measures on 1,652,508 state debtors.

Proper tax avoidance becomes good citizen obligation.

The number of companies active in the construction sector has declined by 35.4 percent since 2004 . Worse, compared to the 401,000 employees in the sector during the third quarter of 2008 – just before the recession cycle started – construction employed just 141,800 workers at end-2016, which means that at least 64.6 percent of the construction workers eight-and-a-half years ago have now been forced out of the sector.

Progress.

Consumers have cut their supermarket spending by up to 38 percent from 2015, according to an MRB Hellas survey.

Yep, definitely.

Improvements continue

Supermarket expenditure in Greece has slumped almost 15 percent within two years, as according to data presented on Wednesday by MRB Hellas chief executive Dimitris Mavros, average monthly spending per household dropped from 280 euros in 2015 to 239 euros this year.

A notable 36 percent of consumers also told researchers that they no longer bother to take a shopping list to the supermarket because the few items they do intend to buy are so easy to memorize. Two out of five (41.6 percent) said they are ready to cut their purchases (not including food) further, while 22.6 percent said they are even prepared to cut down further on food shopping.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/218502/article/ekathimerini/business/supermarket-spending-down-15-pct-in-two-years

EU and Greece reached new agreements. Main points being reducing pension spending gradually towards 2019 and in same time hike taxes focusing on people with small income.

Some people ask about genocide. This is perfect example on how ruling class is performing classic genocide.

Four in 10 Greek businesses (40.3 percent) consider it likely that they will have to close shop within the year, according to a survey by the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants (GSEVEE), presented by the ANA-MPA news agency on Thursday.

According to the survey, around 18,700 businesses will close in the first six months of the year, forcing thousands to join growing unemployment lines in the crisis-hit country.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/217106/article/ekathimerini/business/new-survey-paints-grim-picture-of-shuttered-businesses

Jobless rate is currently 23.6%. 71.8% of people can't find new place within one year.

Job participation is now at 39.66%.

Worries are growing over the course of the local labor market, as salaried employment fell by a considerable 82,810 jobs last month, hitting a 15-year low. And this during a period when six out of the every 10 jobs created belong to the flexible-labor categories

Out of the sum of new hirings recorded last month, the ministry announced on Thursday that 61.68 percent concerned part-time or shift work. Flexible labor was also dominant in the first 10 months of the year, accounting for 54.22 percent of new positions.

Greek home construction has fallen to a new low this year, with data seen by Kathimerini showing that only 3,286 houses were completed in the first five months of 2016, down from 3,766 houses in January-May last year (i.e. a reduction of 12.7 percent on an annual basis).

Hellenic Statistical Authority figures have shown a 95 percent drop in the number of new houses from 2007 to the second quarter of this year.

They should call it VET instead of VAT for "Value Elsewhere Tax".

And under the new scheme, Greeks are mandated to have registered everything they own, with taxpayers having to add moveable and immovable possessions such as paintings, antiques, jewelry, even historical weapon, etc but also the cash they have in their wallets or under the mattress.

More improvements.

Constant improvement continue:

Crucially, the disposable income of households will shrink anew due to the increase in taxation and the hikes in almost all indirect taxes and social security contributions. Hundreds of thousands of families are cutting down on their basic expenses while many have run into debt over various obligations: For example, unpaid Public Power Corporation bills now total 2.7 billion euros.

The first three months of this year proved to be one of the worst quarters ever for the supermarket sector in Greece, as the value of sales declined by 7.8 percent from the same period in 2015.

The drop was not the result of any drastic cut in prices, with data showing a marginal increase in this area; the real reason was the fall in demand, as sales volume posted an 8.6 percent drop compared to the first quarter of 2015. Consumers are cutting down on even the most basic of commodities, ranging from milk to washing powder.