SYRIZA calls for reversal of decision to shut down 41 post office branches
SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance demands that the government halt the shutdown of 41 Hellenic Post (ELTA) branches nationally, parliamentary group president Sokratis Famellos said on Monday.
Famellos accused the government of reducing public services and "gifting them to the private sector and interests," in a statement. He criticized the government of "using the excuse of so-called restructuring of the post office to proceed to the violent shrinking of the organization's outlet network in mountain, island, and hard-to-access areas," and charged the government with "leading to rural Greece's desertification."
The main opposition deputy said these branches serve citizens in several ways, including distributing pensions, receiving payment for utility and tax bills, and providing some banking services to some segments of society and regions that have no alternatives.
Shutting down branches was announced this past summer by the managers of ELTA, which belongs to Greece's superfund. The post office network includes 1,150 branches in Greece and managers said that staff of shutdown stores will be transferred to larger branches. Forty-one of these shut down today (Monday).
In his criticism, Famellos also said that the emergency funding provided by the state in 2020 (around 280 million euros) was not enough to prevent the shutdowns. "The priority, it seems, was not citizens and local development," but the support of New Democracy cadres through direct concession contracts.
AMNA
