The members of the press/media are invited to attend the press conference that will be held by Engineers insured by T.S.M.E.D.E. /E.T.A.A.[1]
The Press Conference will take place on Wednesday, 5 March 2014, at 11:00 am
At the premises of TEE (Technical Chamber of Greece), Nikis 4, Syntagma, 8th floor, “Managing Committee room”.
and is organized by:
-Technical Employees‘ Association (Σ.Μ.Τ.)
-The Union of Civil Service Engineers (Π.Ο Ε.ΜΔ.Υ.Δ.Α.Σ.)
-The Open Assembly of Engineers [2]
The initiative for this action was taken given the fact that:
The Greek Minister of Labour, Social Security and Welfare, Mr. Yiannis Vroutsis and his chosen and appointed by the government chairman of E.T.A.A., Mr. Antonis Sellianakis , between their correspondence, sent on February 19, 2014 and February 20, 2014, escalate the Government’s attack against engineers[3] the overwhelming majority of whom are either suffering the consequences of the continuing economic crisis, recession for the sixth consecutive year and and the troica implemented memoranda or even have already been completely financially and/or professionally destroyed. Through their documents and under the memoranda legislation framework, they ask the security fund of engineers to pass on the debtors to K.E.A.O. (a newly founded debt collecting establishment where due debts from employer’s and self-employed security contributions will be transferred to) which in fact will be serving as a money and property confiscation mechanism.[4]
These happen while the number of health and pension non-secured engineers keeps increasing. Thousand of engineers, being unable to cope with their compulsory security contributions (which are a form of poll tax and do not take under any consideration the individual’s capacity due to income) have had no access to basic health care for a few years now.
The above-mentioned constitute a part of the hard reality that self-employed and independent professionals insured by ETAA are facing and who are invited to fight with us against the savagery condemning our lives.
We call for this press conference in order to:
-Present the various aspects and dimensions of the dramatic situation in the branch of engineers, a situation which is continuously worsened.
– Express our stance regarding immediate measures that should be taken, so that the economic, and physical extermination of our colleagues and ourselves -who make or would wish to be able to make a living as engineers, is deterred.
[1]T.S.M.E.D.E. -E.T.A.A. (Engineers’ and Public Contractors’ Insurance and Pension Fund as part of the Unified Fund of Independently Secured)
The latter has emerged from the unification of three main social security funds, those covering legal professionals, health professionals (doctors, dentists and pharmacists) and engineers. In all three funds, the main affiliation condition is the effective and lawful exercise of their profession. Engineers’ insurance in particular is provided by their own insurance fund (T.S.M.E.D.E.) in which they are registered in an automatic and compulsory manner as soon as they join the Technical Chamber through that issues their professional license. Thus, their insurance is based on their professional title and not on their employment status; meaning an obligation to pay for social security contributions even when unemployed or with low income.
[2]The Open Assembly of Engineers is a self-organized, non-hierarchical initiative where we participate, decide and act together regardless of our political affiliations. We resist the devaluation of our profession, the blatant robbery of our Security Funds, the forced dismantling of Public structures and Common goods. We protest against the inaction of our institutional representatives and denounce their compliance.
[3]Engineers in Greece are all Polytechnic and Technical Institution Graduates, some of which are civil engineers, architects, land surveyors, mechanic, electric, metallurgy, chemical, and a few hundreds more newer and older that belong to the vast category of engineers.
[4]This ability to confiscate has a starting limit of 5000eu. Once someone’s debt is transferred there no court order issued whatsoever has any inhibiting power, hence bypassing the legal system too, in an unjust and inhumane manner