http://www.euronews.com/
There was more anger in Athens on Wednesday as the deadline approached
for Greece's bond swap with its investors, which is a vital step in the
country getting its international bailout.
Union members,
including police officers, protested that their pension funds are
included in the debt swap deal. That means steep losses on the
government bonds they hold, potentially reducing the value of their
future pensions.
A leader of the civil servants union, Ilian
Vrettakos, complained: "The coalition government and the troika are
implementing the most barbaric plan against the social insurance funds
and those insured. Instead of leaving out pension funds from the losses,
they are making more cutbacks to the funds, which means a reduction in
pensions and benefits."
Private investors hold 206 billion
euros worth of government bonds. Athens has said at least three quarters
of them have to agree to take part in the bond swap for it to go ahead.
After months of tortuous negotiations, over 30 major European
banks and insurers, along with Greece's largest banks and most of its
pension funds, confirmed on Wednesday that they will swap their bonds
for others of lower value to be paid back over a longer term. That
process will wipe out almost three quarters of the value of their
investments.
The rest of the investors have until Thursday evening to say whether they will take part.
Bankers and politicians said the outcome still remains uncertain.
Greece has said those who do not sign up will get nothing.
