Human rights: The impact of austerity measures in Greece

Over the years, Greece has been forced to accept multiple restrictive policies in order to restore their economic status within the European Union. The Federation of International Human Rights recently condemned the severity of these measures, claiming them to be a violation of Human Rights. We take a look at some of the positions that people and organizations have taken towards Greek Human Rights since the implementation of austerity measures within the nation.

 Since 2010, Greece has had to adopt several restrictive measures within their own national policy through multiple Memorandums of Understanding with the Troika. Some of more noteworthy terms included were: cuts in public service wages, a scrapping of 13^th and 14^th salaries, the abolition of life tenure in the public sector, a decrease in social benefits, cuts in pensions, an increase in fuel taxes, a reduction of the minimum wage by 22%, cuts in funds for people with disabilities, and a cut of public service staff by 150,000 people. The Greek government accepted these, and many other conditions, in return for more positive debt terms.

Such austerity measures have put a strain on the viability of the suffering nation, and are therefore considered to be quite controversial. At the start of 2015, The Federation for International Human Rights (FIDH) called for an end to the measures due to their violation of basic Human, Economic, and Social Rights. Their report is the latest in a series of responses condemning the policies outlined by the Troika. They argued that two specific Social Rights, namely the Right to Work and the Right to Health, have been jeopardized.

The FIDH outlined some specific issues, such as the cuts in nurses, hospital beds, street work programmes, people with disabilities and others within the framework of health. As for the right to work, the most vulnerable groups in the labour market are being ignored completely leading to unemployment rates up to 60% for young adults. These Rights are a fundamental part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights within Article 23 and Article 25 UDHR. They are also a part of the European Social Charter, another treaty of the Council of Europe, which guarantees social and economic rights.

The European Parliament has previously taken a similar position, expressing its concern over the severity of the measures. In March 2014, they adopted a resolution ‘Employment and social aspects of the role and operations of the Troika’, displaying their concern whilst talking about unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, education and the necessity for social dialogue. It took into consideration the relevant articles from the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, such as ‘the right of collective bargaining and action (Article 28), protection in the event of unjustified dismissal (Article 30), fair and just working conditions (Article 31), recognition of and respect for the entitlement to social security benefits and social services and, in order to combat social exclusion and poverty, the right to ‘a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources’ (Article 34), the right of access to preventive health care and the right to benefit from medical treatment (Article 35), and recognition and respect for the right to access services of general economic interest (Article 36)’.

The EP said: “It calls on the EU to provide support… for the recovery of social protection standards, the fight against poverty reduction, the support of education services… and the renewal of social dialogue through a social recovery plan; it calls on the Commission, the ECB and the Eurogroup to review… the exceptional measures that have been put in place.”

In 2013, UN Human Rights expert Cephas Lumina argued that the measures could be considered a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “The implementation of the second package of austerity measures and structural reforms is likely to have a serious impact on basic social services and therefore the enjoyment of human rights by the Greek people, particularly the most vulnerable sectors of the population such as the poor, elderly, unemployed and persons with disabilities.”

Finally, The Council of Europe has also criticized the road towards economic recovery for Greece. In fact, the European Committee on Social Rights has come forward saying that the measures are a violation of the European Social Charter, such as Article 12 ESC.

The Troika and Greece have not contradicted these claims. In fact, Greece accepted the verdict from the ECSR that their policy no longer acted in accordance with the European Social Charter. However, in their reply they stress the need for their measures, and put emphasis on the provisional nature of their policy.

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