The consequences of the imposition of the structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to the Greek

welfare state and the challenges to the Greek Association of Social Workers

Maria Pentaraki, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer, Social Work, Care and Justice. Liverpool Hope University,UK

pentarm@hope.ac.uk

Social Work Social Development 2012: Action and Impact conference to be held in Stockholm 8-12 July, 2012.

Contents

Introduction- Austerity Plan and SAP Consequences:

– A social disaster– A political disaster

Research Summary of Findings Conclusions

Introduction

The social work profession and its social justice mandate.

Case study of the Greek Professional Association of Social Workers (transliterated SKLE) is a good example to see how is a professional association responding to rising inequalities that undermine social justice.

Conditionalities of Loans / Structural Adjustment Program- SAP

- A savage austerity program

Austerity plan-conditionality of two loans “bailouts” (110 billion – 2010 and 130 billion- 2012)

The loan given by IMF, ECB, EU According to official estimates of SAP outcomes, by

2015, the amount of public money allocated to servicing the debt will be higher than the amount of public money allocated to social protection

and healthcare (MTFS, 2011) Reflects entrenchment of neoliberal policies to the

Greek society.

Neo-liberal Policies

20% to 62% social spending cuts Deregulation of labor relations Massive job losses Decrease of pensions and salaries- from 20% to

40%.– EU representatives announced that the goal is to get

Bulgarian wages of 150 euros Privatization of public servises/infrastructure/ utilities

– Privitization Fund run by Treuhand (sold off E.Germany) –

Containment of democratic rights

Social disaster and political disaster

Humanitarian crisis: Approx 20.000 homeless in Athens 25% rise since 2 years ago. Poor-hungry-no access to health care.250.000 a day eat with hand outs ef

Political Disaster- Annulment of Democracy

Non elected prime minister- representative of the global ruling elite- TRILATERAL COMMISSION- from November 2011 to May 2012.

During demonstrations– Illegal chemical warfare -health problems– Immense violence –hospitalizations- chronic

health consequences

Consequences- Human Development Index (UN Human Development Progress Report

2011)

Greece’s ranking fell from the 22nd to the 29th position (7 ranking places lost).

.

Life expectancy, schooling, gross national income, etc

Consequences

2.500 schools closed, no heating, no maintenance Hospitals merging, less beds, less staff Households with no water and electricity, back to

candle lighting and coal heating People in Greece among the lowest income

earners in EU Before the economic crisis 1/5 of the population

lived under poverty line. Now 1/3 officially impoverished.

Consequences- Unemployment rate (Eurostat, 2012)

Highest increases in EU between January 2011 and January 2012 were registered in:

– Greece from 14.7 % to 21.7 % (7% rise)– Spain from 20.8 % to 24.1 % – Cyprus 6.9 % to 10.0 %.

EU27 unemployment rate from 9.4% (March 2011) to 10.2% (March 2012)

EU 27 youth unemployment rate 22.1% (2011) Greek youth unemployment rate 49.3%

Health consequences

Suicide rate rose by 22% from 2009 to 2011 Children hospitalizations due to pain aches increased by

10-15% Increase in HIV infections rose by 52% since 2010 due to

shared needles among drug users and then in increase of prostitution. 1/3 of street programs were closed

Compared with 2007—ie, before the crisis—2009 saw a significant increase in people reporting that they did not go to a doctor or dentist despite feeling that it was necessary , mostly due to long waiting lists because of undefunding and understaffing (Kentikelenis, 2011 et al)

Children with uninsured parents do not get vaccinations- prediction for the rise of preventable diseases

Children faint at school due to hunger ( 28th Greek National Medical Conference, 14th-16th of May 2012; Pentaraki, 2012; Kentikelenis A. et al 2011)

A Qualitative Research

Two group interviews and three individual in depth interviews with executive members of the Greek Association of Social Workers (transliterated SKLE) from December 2011 to Sep 2012.

– SKLE was established in 1955 and represents professionally, scientifically and as a union 5500 social workers in Greece. SKLE during the social democratic phase of capitalism was able to make important contributions to the social work profession and towards the development of the welfare state.

Thematic Analysis

Findings:

Recognition of the undermining of the welfare state and the need to protect it.– Unfair measures the most vulnerable are affected.– Newly qualified social workers have become

service users Contested understanding of the economic

crisis. Contested nature of profession.– Micro level interpretation

“It is all our fault”. “We ate them all together”

– Macro level interpretation Political elit and other systemic causes

Findings

Strategies still rooted in the social partnership model even though they recognize that it is not working any more:– The doors are closed now

Conclusion

In order to be compatible with the social justice mandate of the sw profession:

Social Work Professional Associations need to reconsider and transform their strategies within the context of neo-liberalism capitalism that breeds inequalities and undermines the welfare state.

Break away from the social partnership model. Necessity to revisit the radical legacy of social work

profession and reclaim the macro skills of the profession.

SW associations join forces and make alliances with trade unions and other social justice organizations both locally and globally.

Conclusions

The social work definition adopted by IFSW and IASSW reflects a profession equipped to work towards goals of social justice. Now that we recognize the inter-connections of local and global process (Dominelli 2010) is more than evident the need to build coalitions both across local/national and international lines (Ferguson and Lavalette 2006∙ Ife, 2008) in order to overturn the neo-liberal global agenda since it cannot be combined with issues of social and economic justice. This is the only way that we can restore the welfare state in Greece by linking it to struggles across the world.

Enough is Enough! A new world is possible!