Europe

Europe

Greek capital hit by new transport strikes

26 September 2011 21:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Another difficult week started for the residents of Athens on Monday as public transport workers announced new mobilizations in protest of a fresh austerity package promoted by the government in the wake of the severe debt crisis, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Rail mass transit providers, namely the metro, electric rail and tram and suburban railway, in the greater Athens area came to a halt on Monday in a fresh 24-hour strike. Buses and trolley buses also stopped between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time.

Long queues at bus stops, delays and traffic jams across Athens all increased the tension and discomfort of Athens residents.

Meanwhile, labor unions representing workers at the mass transit sector were meeting to decide their actions for the next few days.

Taxi drivers, who are also protesting against the government’s plans to open up their sector to competition, have declared a 48-hour strike for Wednesday and Thursday.

The cost of the strikes of the public mass transport is estimated at 900,000 euros on a daily basis.

The public mass transport sector employees were protesting against government plans to put thousands of the public workers on a "labor reserve scheme," which is aimed to make up for a shortfall in budget revenues.

Greece has pledged to slash its deficit-to-GDP ratio to 7.5 percent by year end 2011, and to less than three percent in 2012, down from 10.5 percent in 2010, in order to convince EU/International Monetary Fund lenders that the debt-ridden country is on the right track to recovery and development.

Last week a series of strikes by public transport employees led to major congestion in and around the capital. Public and private sector labor unions are planning more mobilizations and strikes over the austerity measures in October.