Civil servants block Greek ministries

Angry civil servants blocked Greek government buildings for a second day this morning, disrupting the debt-laden country's talks with international lenders on a lifeline bailout payment.

At the transport ministry, several dozen government workers gathered to prevent senior members of an international inspection team from meeting the minister, Yannis Ragousis. Reporters saw the inspectors' car turn and drive away.

After a three-week breakdown in negotiations that unnerved financial markets, Greece and inspectors from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund resumed talks yesterday on an €8 billion aid tranche, which the country needs to avoid running out of cash next month.

But the meetings with the troika of auditors have got off to a bumpy start, with state workers protesting against the austerity measures the government pledged to lure the inspectors back to Athens. Access to several ministries was blocked.

Prime minister George Papandreou's Socialist government plans to cut its wage bill by 20 per cent and put about 30,000 people in a so-called "labour reserve", effectively a waiting-room for redundancy.

The troika inspectors' meeting with transport minister Ragousis was put back to 3pm (Irish time), a ministry official said.

They will discuss a plan to ease restrictions on taxi licences, a measure which has incensed drivers who fear greater competition. Protests against that move and others have seen widespread disruption across Greece for the last few months.

Among other ministries affected, about 50 civil servants, some holding banners, were barring access to the finance ministry, while a lock-out at the national statistics office ELSTAT forced the agency to postpone publication of two sets of economic indicators today.

Local government employees, special forces veterans and people with disabilities were among groups planning other protests in Athens later in the day.

There was also a sign of dissent among the government's own supporters. Ten Socialist members of parliament sent Mr Ragousis a letter urging less radical steps on taxi licences.

One of the group, Vassiliki Tsonoglou, told a radio station that the transport minister "should not be dogmatic" on the issue and declined to say whether the dissenters would vote for Mr Ragousis's taxi bill when it comes before parliament.

EU governments, notably in economic leader Germany, are struggling to persuade voters to offer Greece more support. Any sign Greeks themselves are not following plans to cut spending and boost their economy may make that harder.

Mr Papandreou had better news when gambling firm OPAP agreed, in principle, to pay €935 million to extend its sports betting monopoly and secure other licences.

It is only the second such money-raising sale deal struck since the government announced in June that it would raise €50 billion from asset sales over five years.

It had raised just €400 million under the programme so far, less than the €1.7 billion it had promised to raise by September 30th.

Euro zone finance ministers meet next week to discuss more ways to help Greece, but few in the market are expecting aggressive measures to ring-fence other countries should Athens default on its debts, which will keep the euro on the backfoot.

"We don't expect any concrete decisions from next week's Eurogroup meeting. But we could get a positive statement that policymakers will help the euro zone periphery, which could help sentiment," said You-Na Park, currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

German two-year notes, perceived to be among Europe's safest debt securities, gained for the first time in five days as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index of shares lost 1.6 per cent. Greek bonds advanced for a fourth day.

Reuters