The Association of Scientific Book Publishers (SIEBI) decided to suspend the distribution of academic books for the winter semester of the current academic year 2017-2018.
This suspension, which concerns all students and students in the country, was decided by an overwhelming majority (over 90%) at the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Scientific Book Publishers Association yesterday. News 24/7 reports about over € 110 million in debt.
In a special announcement, the industry is unable to support the distribution of books by its own resources and denounces that the Education Ministry is currently "examining" the repayment of invoices relating to the spring semester of the academic year 2015-2016.
Members of the Association of Publishers report that the delay of payments exceeds any limit of endurance - and, most of all, reasonable - and "this in relation to the 55% cuts we have suffered creates suffocation".
More specifically, SEEBI notes that "the Ministry of Education is unlikely to delay the fulfillment of its obligations to the industry. Since the financial services of the Ministry of Education are currently examining (October 2017) the repayment of invoices relating to the spring semester of the academic year 2015-2016 (!!!), it is easy to understand for everyone the dire financial situation that the industry, "he explains in detail.
According to the same announcement, the SEEBI decision "is the most difficult and strained decision ever taken by the industry. And in the past there were delays, but at acceptable and permissible limits. "
Finally, the Association of Publishers of Scientific Papers "calls on Education Minister Kostas Gavroglou to find an immediate solution so that even the last time the industry can get out of the financial stalemate and meet the high requirements of the beginning of the new academic year."
It is not the first time
It is recalled that in 2011, the Ministry of Education owed more than € 70 million to science books publishers, and then, in protest of late payments, publishers "froze" the distribution of textbooks to students.
The relevant ministry then owed the country's publishing houses EUR 30 million from the academic years 2005-06 to 2008-09, another EUR 35 million from the 2010-2011 winter program under the Eudoxos electronic system, and EUR 10 million from Higher Ecclesiastical Academies.
"On February 25, 2011, we submitted to the Ministry a final proposal for prices and a way of costing new books . Our proposal was final, because before that our initial proposal was squeezed and modified in prices twice downwards, exhausting every margin.
The publishers as a whole showed a good mood about the problem of the crisis in which the country is located, suffered the freezing of the increases in the already costly booksfor the fifth consecutive year, absorbed the VAT increases, pledged increases in raw materials and services and the additional cost of distributions via Eudoxus, about 10%.
Nevertheless, the Ministerial Decision has not yet been signed so that the books are currently around 2,500, "the publishers then said in a cry of despair and noted that" it should not be seen as a strike mobilization of the overwhelming majority of publishers. This is not in line with the industry's style and ethos. It is a civilized way of communicating our problems and a gentle reaction to what is imputed to us. "
Unfortunately, history is repeated and it remains to be seen what ministerial reflexes this time will be, in order to avoid any unpleasant "surprise" over 75,000 students.
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