- Title: GREECE: Public transport strike causes road chaos in Athens
- Date: 9th December 2010
- Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (DECEMBER 8, 2010) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC PILED UP ON ATHENS STREET, DRIVERS HONKING LONG LINES OF VEHICLES INCHING ALONG STREET HUGE TRAFFIC PILEUP ON BRIDGE OF HIGHWAY VEHICLES FIGHTING TO PASS FIRST AT AN INTERSECTION, VAN INCHING THROUGH JAM TO GET OUT OF INTERSECTION, PEOPLE HONKING CAR STALLED ON SIDE OF ROAD, VEHICLES SNAKING ALONG STREET (SOUNDBIT
- Embargoed: 24th December 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Greece, Greece
- Country: Greece
- Topics: Domestic Politics,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVAB1QD89FAI8SFB6YHT1II7PG1V
- Story Text: Buses, trains, trams, and subway stations were all closed on Wednesday (December 8) in Athens by a 24-hour staff walkout, leading to a mass switch to car transport, which caused chaos on city roads.
Traffic jams filled the streets, horns honked and tempers flared as the wider city filled with double the amount of vehicles as on a regular day.
Taxis were out in force and people scrambled to hail a cab, but even they said the congestion was unbearable.
"It's very much (an inconvenience). Everyone has taken their car out on the street today and there is a lot of traffic. People are being inconvenienced." said taxi driver Bobby Bakalopoulos.
"It took me one hour and 40 minutes to get from one part of the city to another," said another driver.
As part of its reform program to reduce Greece's massive deficit the government is downsizing and privatizing public entities, and cutting wages in the public sector.
The Greek railways are to be restructured and partly privatized, resulting in the transfer of more than two thousand workers to other public service jobs and a cut to their wages. Workers are angry over the wage cuts but also say there will be job losses as not all employees will be transferred.
The railways are heavily indebted and a loss-making enterprise for the country. One of its highest costs was wages for its six thousand employees. Lines will also be cut. Until now the railways travelled on domestic cross-country routes and to the Balkans and Turkey.
Transport workers in other public transport services have also suffered wage cuts and layoffs due to an end to rolling work contracts.
The European Union and IMF, who have given Greece a 110 billion euro rescue package, said Greece needs to clean up a wasteful and costly public sector and public entities, privatise and create competitiveness, in order to restore growth to the country.
Euro zone partners and the IMF rescued the debt-choked country from bankruptcy in May by agreeing to the bailout in return for tough austerity policies including tax hikes, pension freezes and public wage cuts. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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