Greece's federation support gov't austerity measures

Greece's powerful industrialists federation has expressed support for government austerity measures, saying competition is a key to economic recovery.

Dimitris Daskalopoulos, Chairman of the Federation of Greek Industries, said, "The size of the Greek economy, with smaller companies that are tightly run Together with workers, has shown already that we have avoided the big effects and the great rises in unemployment and the great rises in bankruptcies that we have seen in other countries, even though our problems are even larger here. And I think there is a resilience built in within the companies and the way they work with their employees that will minimize this impact."

Former employees of privatized Olympic Airways stand behind barricades in front of Greece's General Accountants office in Athens March 10, 2010. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis