Greek social work and the never-ending crisis of the welfare state

Abstract

Amid the unprecedented financial crisis in Greece, which began unfolding in 2010, a major radical reform of the welfare state was implemented. This reform was presented, by both mainstream academics and politicians, as a ‘painful yet necessary’ step due to the broader extraordinary sociopolitical circumstances that can only be compared to a ‘state of emergency’. In this article we argue that, despite the dominant rhetoric about the urgency of these policies, they should be seen as a continuation and further acceleration of previous neoliberal changes in the welfare state. While showing the continuity of the structural reforms, we place particular emphasis on the devastating impact these have had on both social services and service users. In doing so, we use the experiences of frontline social workers who have been at the epicentre of the ongoing reforms, directly witnessing their catastrophic impact. In the light of these overwhelming experiences, Greek social workers have started challenging the orthodoxies of ‘traditional’ social work and engaged with an exploration of alternative forms of social work theory and practice (reconceptualisation).

Practising social work in a context of austerity: experiences of public sector social workers in Greece

“…This framing legitimized the further neoliberal restructuring of society and its resultant social spending cuts (author's own, Levitas, 2012). A country that has been particularly harshly affected by social spending cuts/austerity measures and neoliberal restructuring is Greece (author's own;Karamesini, 2015;Salomon, 2015;Ioakimidis and Teloni, 2013). While there have been explorations into the impact of the social spending cuts on social work in general, there has not been any empirical work related to the impact of the cuts on public sector social workers in Greece.…”

Educating against all odds: The context and content of social work education in times of national crisis in Greece

“…In the years of crisis from 2008 onwards, within a context of austerity, deconstruction of the welfare state, rise of fascism and violation of human rights, 2 a gradual radicalisation and anti-oppressive stance of social work seems to be occurring in Greece (Dedotsi, Young and Broadhurst, 2016;Ioakimidis and Teloni, 2013). This change is reflected not only in the grassroots initiatives by social workers in the community (for example the community interventions of the Greek branch of Social Work Action Network) but also on the very recent politicisation of the Greek Professional Association of Social Workers (SKLE) by participating in strikes and demonstrations against austerity measures and racism (Teloni and Mantanika, 2015).…”

Hope over fear: social work education towards 2025

“…Colleagues in Greece have spoken of the 'never-ending crisis of the welfare state' and describe a situation where social workers go unpaid for months, while higher eligibility criteria mean that many service users, including disabled people and older people without pensions, are left without any support whatsoever (Ioakimidis & Teloni, 2013).…”

“…The destruction of welfare services in Greece in recent years, graphically described by Ioakimidis and Teloni (2013), at the hands of a 'Troika' of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund gives us no reason to revise that view.…”