Greece’s parliament approved on Monday a package of reforms demanded by international lenders for new bailouts, a success for the government but a blow to thousands of protesters demonstrating in front of parliament.
The bill introduces a new electronic process for property restitution in cases of loan defaults and arrears owed to the state, opens the door to closed categories, restores benefits to families and makes the call to strike more difficult.
About 20,000 people gathered in front of parliament during the vote. Buses, trains and railways were disrupted, while some flights were canceled as workers entered a strike to protest the bill.
“Parliament must not approve these measures,” said one of the protesters, Georgia Kotsuko, 55. The government has to pull it out.
During the vote, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who threw incendiary bombs and stones at them in unrest that did not last long.
The vote means the government’s success in passing the reforms ahead of the Jan. 22 meeting of euro zone finance ministers, who are expected to assess the adequacy of Greece’s implementation of the third review of the current 86 billion euro ($ 106 billion) program, which expires in August.
The completion of the review would allow the disbursement of bail loans of some 6.5 billion euros.
“Today’s vote is pivotal for the country to successfully exit the bailout package within seven months,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told parliament, calling on the 300-member parliament to approve the bill.
The majority of the government increased by one seat to 154 seats after the vote after an independent deputy said she would join the ruling party of the ruling Syriac party.
But the legislation is a drug that has been brewing Syrisa’s party, Tsipras, as the party’s roots are striking in the left wing’s active defense of workers’ rights.
The new law raises the threshold threshold for calling for a strike to just over 50 percent, compared with a third in the past. Greece’s business owners and creditors hope the measure will reduce the pace of strikes and improve productivity, which is about 20 percent below the EU average.