The Greek government on Friday announced an unprecedented compensation package for families of the victims and seriously injured passengers of the deadly Feb. 28 train collision in north-central Greece, a development that comes only days after preliminary judicial and administrative investigations even commenced.
Beyond special life-long pensions, relief measures include public sector hiring for family members of the each victim and those suffering a disability, loan and tax arrears write-offs for family members and the severely injured, as well as school transfers for college student passengers to an institution of their preference. The total package includes 11 measures, worth millions of euros.
The lightning quick announcement, also unprecedented by Greek state standards, follows intense criticism in the country over the sorry state of Greece’s antiquated and paltry – compared with other European countries – rail network. Much of the criticism, as expected, has been directed at the current government, which is particularly sensitive to voter disapproval weeks of a few months ahead of a general election. By all accounts, the disaster was caused by “human error” and negligence by more than one staff member of the state-run railways network owner and operator, OSE, although fail-safe protocols and electronic monitoring, signaling and communication systems were absent, in disrepair or slated for installation.
In announcing the measures, signed by a handful of relevant ministers, the Mitsotakis government emphasized that: “You can’t put a value on human, however, the very bare minimum obligation of the state, amid such circumstances, is to relieve and support, with humility and respect, the relatives of the victims, and the injured of the tragic Tempi train accident.”
The official death toll from the shocking rail accident, the worst ever in Greece, remained at 57, while dozens of passengers were injured. Five to six people remained treated in hospital ICUs on Friday. The conductors and many of the coach staff aboard the two trains, one a passenger service run by private Hellenic Train and the other carrying freight, perished in the calamitous collision.
The most prominent compensation measure is a special pension for the close family members of each victim, and 50 percent of the figure designated figure for those suffering a disability, due to the accident, exceeding 50 percent. If case a victim was not married and did not have children, the special pension is granted to surviving parents.
According to the government, this pension will be derived from the current national minimum rate of 384 euros, multiplied by four.
Another prominent measure is the write-off of arrears to the tax bureau and social security funds for close family members of victims and those sustaining serious injury, i.e. a disability exceeding 50 percent. Along the same line, mortgages and personal loans are written off for close family members of victims and those sustaining serious injury, an initiative taken in cooperation with lenders in the country and loan servicers.
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