GREECE: Railway workers on 24 hour strike against privatisation plans

Record ID: 338942

  • Title: GREECE: Railway workers on 24 hour strike against privatisation plans
  • Date: 11th June 2010
  • Summary: PRESIDENT OF RAILWAY WORKERS UNION SPEAKING ON MICROPHONE TO GATHERED WORKERS VARIOUS OF RAILWAY WORKERS GATHERED AT TRANSPORT MINISTRY LISTENING TO THE SPEECH OF THEIR UNION PRESIDENT (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE RAILWAY WORKERS UNION THANASIS LEVEDIS SAYING: "Today at the 24 hour general strike of the railway workers, the workers fight for their jobs.T
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Employment,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEIBBJHJ9J04U77CTTDWA5QY7C
  • Story Text: Some 300 hundred railway workers protested in front of the transport ministry on Thursday (June 10) during a 24-hour strike against the partial privatisation of the loss-making state railway OSE, the first strike triggered by a new three-year privatisation programme.
    The union representatives entered the building and handed the ministry officials a report in which they state their positions and demands on the privatisation that the government announced last week.
    "Today at the 24 hour general strike of the railway workers, the workers fight for their jobs.They fight for a modern public railway company that will serve the passengers, that will serve the cause for which it was created." said railway union representative Thanasis Levedis.
    Railway worker Ilias Kourakos expressed his concerns over the economic measures that have been announced and the government's intention to privatise the railway company which he says have affected the workers' psychology and has made it very difficult for them to concentrate at their work.
    "At this moment all those who are responsible for the safe train circulation, they are not thinking about the rails and the lines but the hunger that will come in the immediate future." said Kourakos.
    Greece unveiled last week that it plans to sell stakes in public railway, water companies as well as real estate.
    The privatisation plan is part of an EU-IMF austerity programme, which sees revenues of 3 billion euros over three years from the privatisations.
    As part of the plan, the government will sell 49 percent of loss-making Greek railway company Hellenic Railways Group (OSE).
    The state company has been riddled with a huge debt amounting to 10 billion euros and large staff costs, and is constantly undergoing restructuring.
    Railway workers have participated in two previous strikes in the last month, causing the cancellation of train schedules.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register