A meeting with the Hellenic Supermarket Association was held on Monday, July 6, by the heads of the Development sector of PASOK-Movement for Change, Anna Diamantopoulou and Giorgos Nikitiadis, as part of the Movement's initiatives on inflation, market operation, and the protection of citizens' income.
According to the relevant announcement, the meeting focused on prices of basic goods, recent government measures, the need to reduce VAT on basic products, as well as broader issues affecting the final cost for the consumer.
Issues discussed included agricultural production, processing, transportation, energy, bank financing, the operation of groups and multinationals, as well as working conditions for the approximately 120,000 supermarket employees.
PASOK emphasizes that inflation cannot be tackled with piecemeal announcements and communication measures without real substance. The shelf price is the final result of a series of distortions in the economy and requires a comprehensive plan with controls, transparency, reduction of tax burdens on basic goods, support for production, and substantial protection of the available income of the Greek family.
After the meeting, Anna Diamantopoulou stated:
“When the government does not end inflation, then inflation ends the Government. This happens in all countries and it is something that is happening now in Greece. Inflation ‘eats’ the income of the people and ‘eats’ the income of the poorest classes.
Today we had a very constructive meeting with the Hellenic Supermarket Association. The discussion also concerned the recent measures, which proved that the so-called 2,000 codes—no one knows what they are and essentially they do not exist—are yet another communication flare and of course we discussed the issue of VAT and its reduction on basic products, which the Supermarket Association also agrees with, because it is something that happens throughout Europe, with the guarantee from the businesses themselves that this will obviously be passed on to consumers.
PASOK does not believe that the problem is limited only to the shelf price. The issue is the overall functioning of the economy. It is agricultural production, industry, transportation, energy, the issue of the work of the 120,000 employees in supermarkets and the conditions and the need to invest in these people, as well as issues related to the internal operation of groups and multinationals, the banking system and investments, and of course the issue of reducing VAT on basic goods and the operation of the Competition Commission.
The problem is overall the functioning of the economy, which is reflected in consumer prices and essentially destroys the daily life of the Greek family.”