State-owned enterprises and "free competition" in the age of monopolies and cartels (the case of OSE).

 

State-owned enterprises and "free competition"
in the age of monopolies and cartels
(the case of OSE).


A view that is systematically cultivated by the media and all kinds of "experts" is that "state-owned enterprises are by nature incapable of standing up economically/business/developmentally", "the Greek state covers the deficits of the public utilities with millions of euros a year" and that "the only solution is private enterprise and its competitive operation".

The first prime example that comes to mind when I read this view is the TGVs, which have been operating within France's state-owned SNCF since 1981 and are at the forefront of rail transport technology. Services are not delayed for a second and in 40 years of operation there has not been a single fatal accident (and they have carried 1. 7 billion passengers). In France, passenger satisfaction with rail transport is 85%.

On the contrary, in England, which proceeded to privatise the railways, the neglect of the stations and the network by the private owners and the serious accidents with many passenger deaths that followed forced them to re-nationalise the railways.

In Greece, OSE became a guinea pig for the imposition of the neoliberal, anti-labour and anti-growth measures of the Party of Memoranda. In 2010, a propaganda bombardment of public opinion had broken out, in order to convince people that "the OSE is a big problem for the taxpayer", "it produces deficits", "it is the fault of the workers", "excessive wages are paid", etc. Is that so?
The founding law of OSE (Law 674/1970) defined its social character (the State, i. e. the government of the day, formulates its pricing policy, imposes reduced fares for special social groups and the exploitation of inefficient (loss-making) lines. At the same time, however, a law (Law 1300/1972) obliges the State to pay to OSE the corresponding "compensatory" indemnities.
Later on, with Law 2671/98, it was legislated as an alternative solution, instead of the public financing of OSE, to resort to borrowing under the guarantee of the State, which (guess what) ended up being the only and exclusive solution (invoking the State as a system of "budgetary reasons"), charging OSE with high interest rates and unbearable interest. Since 2004 . . . "established" also the non-reimbursement of VAT to OSE.

Could you imagine, the private transport means competing with the Railways, building their own infrastructure (Ports, Airports, Roads) and the public funding for barren lines etc. not being paid in full?
University professor Kyriakos Kyoulafas, in a study on the issue of OSE, concluded that "OSE is forced to operate according to political criteria, while it is evaluated according to business criteria".
Fans of the "miracle of private initiative" suggest: "Got a toothache? Cut off his head. To private individuals". In the "country where democracy was born", no one thought to propose: meritocracy, transparency, democracy?

The proposed solution is "free competition", a phenomenon of the last century. Today, monopolies and cartels prevail and competition exists only as a pretext and "bread and butter" for big business. Big industries can collude with each other and make huge profits at the expense of consumers. All the big businessmen are connected in the most intimate way with members of the big parties (who also earn "something").
A typical example is the revelation of the milk cartel, where 17 companies (dairy companies and supermarket chains) got together, resulting in very expensive products on the shelves and the bankruptcy of producers.

The case of the "puppets" immediately afterwards, came to ridicule the alleged "control" of the market by the "Competition Commission".
In 2012, a cartel was found in the poultry market, where 10 companies controlling 80% of the market had for 15 years "consensually" set the prices of their products and shared distribution networks.
Not to mention oil (here we laugh), banks (here we cry / even prosecutors are not allowed to audit them, only to recapitalize them every now and then) and there's no end to the charade.


George Papanikolaou