Greek public, private sector clash over austerity

By Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's new austerity package has driven a wedge between private and public sector workers, pitting resentful private employees against civil servants seen as privileged over who should pay for the country's debt crisis.

Under pressure from markets and EU partners, the government announced a new austerity package last week worth 4.8 billion euros ($6.53 billion) in savings, including a hike in VAT and duties, cuts in civil servants' income and a pension freeze.

Labor unions called strikes and polls showed that while Greeks accept the need for sacrifices they mostly opposed this package. On the streets of Athens, ordinary Greeks said the austerity was not hitting the right people.

"People are divided over the measures, because half are civil servants and the rest of us, the idiots, work to support civil servants. Why should I be paying for them?" said 58-year old businessman Yannis Kotoulas.

A survey by polling agency GPO on behalf of MEGA TV taken between March 4 and 8 showed 60 percent of 1,400 people surveyed disapproved of the new measures, while 39 percent backed them.

About half approved a cut in civil servants' holiday pay and a 52 percent majority still have a positive opinion of Prime Minister George Papandreou and prefer his PASOK party to the conservative New Democracy.

The most unpopular measure, opposed by three-quarters of respondents, was a 2 percent hike in VAT, widely felt to be hitting the poorest.

Some Athenians said opposition to the measures came largely from civil servants.