Since Wednesday morning, February 10, an emblematic mobilization-protest against the Mitsotakis government carried out by people in the catering industry, with the general title «The keys to focus». The professionals who have probably been under the most pressure in their businesses in 2020 and to date (due to a combination of previous over-indebtedness during the period of the memoranda, a decline in turnover due to the measures and weak support without real backing to meet their obligations to banks, funds, and payrolls), are coming forward in Parliament to show that they have no more resilience. And this, at a time when the Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras He even questions the extent of the damage they have suffered, asking «And how much did they get?;» referring to 300,000 people…
Industry professionals participate in collecting keys to their businesses to hand over to the Prime Minister's Office, especially after statement by Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis that he is willing to take them. The event began at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday and will last until 2:00 p.m., but already at the venue Syntagma Square The organization of the event has begun, with statements on television channels, etc.
The handover of the keys will be accompanied by statements from a «former catering professional» to be signed by those who hand in their keys. Her postscript is extremely eloquent: «The door is locked twice. The flowers need watering, they have wilted, and the electricity has been cut off, it needs to be reconnected. If the phone rings, it's best not to answer it. The bills are on the first table on the right behind the door.».
The industry's calls for substantial support measures, not just relief described by POESE President George Kavvathas:
- access to finance
- coverage of 100% of employees' insurance contributions for job retention
- «haircut» on liabilities incurred during the pandemic period
- protection of professional housing for at least two years with a ban on evictions and rent subsidies
Speaking earlier from the set of his morning show Ant1, Mr. Kavvathas clarified that this is a matter of nationwide mobilization. «All primary associations in the sector in all cities from Evros to Crete and from Corfu to Rhodes, Today, they hold the keys to the restaurant. They will come to Athens and be handed over by a delegation from the Board of Directors and colleagues at the Maximos Mansion.
«We are 81,000 companies and employ 350,000 people., but the most important thing is the multiplier,» emphasized Mr. Kavvathas, because «we are dragging all sectors down with us, from the primary sector, agricultural and livestock production, food manufacturing and industry, brewing, winemaking, technical professions, culture...».
«Behind this key is not the company's safe., but the employees, our families and theirs,» said one of the business owners present at the scene. «Behind every restaurant business there are hundreds of people, they must be supported»A colleague of his who runs a business that has endured for half a century and survived the decade of memoranda noted that «while we used to say “thank God we're out of the tunnel,” now we say “help us, Virgin Mary.”».
The mobilization directly and «strongly» supports the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen, describing it as «a struggle for survival for catering businesses and related professions in every corner of Greece, which have been hit hard by the pandemic and are at risk of closure.».
After collecting the keys and sending them to Panhellenic Federation of Restaurant and Related Professions, its president, along with 99 other professionals, plans to proceed with protest march to the Maximos Mansion to deliver them to the Prime Minister's office along with a relevant resolution in the coming days.
