GREECE: Electricity employees go on 48-hour strike over planned privatisation of their company, action that will threaten the country's power supply

Record ID: 339049

  • Title: GREECE: Electricity employees go on 48-hour strike over planned privatisation of their company, action that will threaten the country's power supply
  • Date: 21st June 2011
  • Summary: MEGALOPOLOLI, GREECE (FILE) (REUTERS) PPC POWER STATION OPERATING ANOTHER PPC POWER STATION OPERATING VARIOUS VIEW OF POWER STATIONS
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece, Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Employment,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7PWAE9LURIRZH4U9DQ84I6KAE
  • Story Text: The Greek employees union of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) said a 48-hour strike which began on Monday (June 20) would continue into rolling strikes that will cause power cuts. The employees were planning cuts to the grid on Monday and warned consumers to use electricity sparingly.
    The union met with new Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Environment Minister George Papaconstantinou at the weekend but without any result, and have asked for further meetings.
    Greece wants to sell a 17 percent stake in its biggest power producer, which has thousands of employees.
    The PPC workers union, besides the fear of job cuts, says if the company falls into private hands it will raise the price of electricity for consumers.
    PPC has a monopoly on energy and is dependent on coal production, which makes it one of the biggest pollutants in Europe.
    Polls show many Greeks support the privatisation of state utilities. There are more than a dozen companies on the government's list, of which it hopes to make 50 billion euros (71 billion US dollars) through their sale, that could go towards paying some of the national debt. The employees of the companies to be privatised have been staging continuous strikes and protests.
    Fast track privatisations are part of the government's next austerity package to be voted in parliament by the end of the month, and their swift sale is part of an agreement with Greece's international lenders.
    The strike comes as the government has asked for a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday (June 21) over the measures.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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