GREECE: Greek workers and civil servants go on strike to demand protection of their pensions

Record ID: 340490

  • Title: GREECE: Greek workers and civil servants go on strike to demand protection of their pensions
  • Date: 16th May 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE)(English) PASSENGER DEREK KOHLER FROM SOUTH AFRICA SAYING: "What can you do? That's life. We are going to be postponed. The only problem is we have a connecting flight from London to South Africa tonight, and if we miss that then there is going to be a problem."
  • Embargoed: 31st May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Employment,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAD1P6LES5QISLS7DCZK3XY3S5A
  • Story Text: Flights and public transport in Athens grind to a halt as Greek workers and civil servants walk off the job and rally to demand protection of their pensions.
    Athens flights were delayed and the capital's public transport came to a standstill on Tuesday (May 15) as Greek workers and civil servants walked off the job and joined protest rallies demanding protection of their pensions.
    Dismayed tourists scrambled for information at Athens airport after local and international flights were cancelled or rescheduled.
    Flights were seriously disrupted as air traffic controllers stopped work for four hours from midday (0900 GMT), while the national airline Olympic Air cancelled 62 domestic and international flights.
    Tourist Diane Duffett from South Africa, due to travel on to Germany, said the stoppage was highly inconvenient.
    "We have to be in Cologne by tomorrow morning and there are no flights out," she told Reuters.
    With national elections looming, a public prosecutor is investigating whether a state pension fund bought an overpriced bond from a Greek brokerage in an affair that has already led to the sacking of a minister and hurt the government's popularity.
    The prosecutor investigating whether the civil servants' auxiliary pension fund was overcharged for a structured government bond is expected to issue his findings this month.
    Public transport in the city stopped, including the subway, and traffic in and around Athens ground to a halt, with jams in every major street. Government services and schools were closed, while hospitals functioned with minimum staff. Media outlets, including state television, ceased news broadcasts for 24 hours as part of the strike.
    The affair has dominated headlines for months, leading to the resignation of the government-appointed pension fund head and a review of how fund boards are appointed.
    Union official Christos Katsotis told Reuters during a rally in Athens: "Workers should turn their backs on the governing New Democracy Party and the PASOK party, so they can ensure the safety of their pensions and contributions."
    Calls for elections ahead of March 2008, when the government's term ends, and possibly as early as October, are increasing among ruling conservative ministers.
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