State Workers Even Receive Benefits For Washing Hands!

Now we understand why workers continue to support PASOK led unions in the public sector. Check out the list of benefits that continue to be added to the salaries of specific groups in the public sector despite the austerity, despite all the cuts that have been made to low income pensioners, and the salaries of workers in the private sector, and despite the Memorandum which (if enforced correctly) would have abolished all of these absurd benefits.

According to a report in the newspaper "Adesmeftos Typos", many of these benefits have indeed been slashed by 33-35 percent, but are nonetheless still being added on to the salaries of workers in many public utility companies such as OSE (public trains), DEH (the power company), Hellenic Petroleum and of course by many banks. 

• Allowance to National Bank executives to take care of customers 
• Allowance for antennas on ISAP trains, EUR 750 per month.
• Special allowance to employees at the Culture Ministry, to be more "culturally aware"
• Allowance to drivers of public transport to warm up buses. (80 euros a month)
• Allowance To Transfer Files (in other words... to mail)
• Allowance for receiving and handing over public transport buses
• Allowance on quick performance of duties
• Allowance for taking courses that are non-job related (?)

And here is where it gets really good...

• DEH workers get a 580 euros a month allowance for faxing papers
• Workers at Hellenic Petroleum get 120 Euros a month to use a food canteen even though the food at the cafeteria is free.
• And our all-time favorite - Workers at the public train system get an allowance for washing their hands that originally stood at 420 euros a month and has now dropped to 280 euros. 

The PASOK which supposedly did so many reforms over the past two and a half years did not want to take away the "special funds" that were being handed out to its army of voters. Now it makes perfect sense why in this time of crisis we did not see state unions protesting by the masses. And it makes perfect sense why most of the heads of the public utility company unions are all PASOK.