SIPTU, Ireland's largest trade union, has welcomed the decisive rejection of the one sided austerity agenda by the Greek people in today's referendum. The union has also called on the Irish government to act in solidarity with the beleagured people of that country, our fellow citizens in the EU, by exercising every scintilla of influence at its disposal to help bring about an agreement at European level on terms they can accept. SIPTU General President, Jack O'Connor, said: "The result clearly demonstrates that the brutal one sided austerity recipe which has been imposed on the Greek people over the last five years has achieved nothing other than to drive a majority of them beyond the point where they believe they have nothing left to loose. The situation is all the more absurd since last Thursday's declaration by one of the main perpetrators, the IMF, that the latest proposals could not work in the absence of an immediate €60 billion in debt relief. "We have now reached the decisive moment in the history of the future of everyone in Europe. There is no room for petty politics now. We call on our Government to focus exclusively on finding a solution which preserves the solidarity of Europe. It must exercise every scintilla of influence at its disposal to help bring about an agreement on terms that afford the people of Greece room to breathe again. "On the face of it, the final offer from Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, which arrived before the Finance Ministers decided on Wednesday 1st July to await the outcome of the referendum, could provide the basis of an interim plan to save Greece and maybe what remains of the European project as well."
SIPTU calls on the Irish Government to act in solidarity with Greek people and its democratically elected leaders
