The whole country in the grip of strikes

By Mary Lampaditi

The wave of protests began on Tuesday with the teachers’ strike and workers in local authorities,who symbolically blocked town halls across the country.

Meanwhile, the suffering of passengers continues with strikes in trolleys and electric rail. For today the demonstrations will escalate with the 24hr strike by GSEE and ADEDY, in which traders will also take part.

So, public services, GOCs and banks will operate minimally. Commercial stores around the country will remain closed and the Athens association has proposed that its members cease work during the protest. Pharmacies will also remain closed and journalists will take part in the strike too, along with doctors and public engineers as well as lawyers in Athens and Piraeus.

They are pulling up the handbrake

Buses and trolleys will remain stationary for 24hrs. Earlier there were developments in the union front, when PASKE took down the ETHEL secretary, Nikos Kouloumparitsis, who left throwing accusations.

The tram and metro will run normally, while the electric railway will stop from 9am-5pm. Ships will also remain at ports and from 12 noon until 4pmair traffic controllers will go on a work stoppage, resulting in flight changes and cancellations.

Protests in Pedion Areos and Omonia

Meanwhile, GSEE and ADEDY have announced a protest meeting in Pedion Areos at 11am, thus opposing the anti-social and neoliberal measures imposed by the Troika and realized by the government, while at the same time PAME will have a separate rally in Omonia.

In its announcement, GSEE points out that it is reacting to the shackles of the memorandum of the usurer lenders but also to the projected «competitiveness pact», because they broaden the recession, unemployment, poverty and misery in the interest of industrialists and bankers. The people and their needs are above profit and numbers.