Kastanidis announces the opening of landfills

With a package of tough measures, the government is trying to trigger the process of garbage collection and warns the striking employees that they will not be paid for however long they strike. As announced by Minister of Interior Charis Kastanidis, the Ministry of Citizen Protection will ensure the smooth operation of landfill waste in Fili and Mavrorahi, Thessaloniki.

“If the situation is not normalized, the government will review the entire existing instritutional framework”, warned Mr. Kastanidis.

The Interior Minister announced the government’s decision not to pay the municipality employees who are on strike, occupying or obstructing garbage collection from Athens of Thessaloniki, a decision which will come into effect through a special memo.

Mr. Kastanidis warned that if some municipal leaders attempt to violate the government provisions on applying the strike days to employees, then they must return the appropriated funds to the public sector.

The Interior Minister also called upon mayors of cities that have turned into landfills themselves to give private companies the chance to collect the trash, without specifying the start time or the measure’s duration. It is telling that Mr. Kastanidis argued that garbage collection by private companies will cost the state 1/3 of what is paid for the collection of waste by employees in local authorities.

He even argued that according to KEELPNO, there is a serious risk to public health through the prolonged storage of garbage in public places.

Mr. Kastanidis called upon the Misdemeanors Prosecutor to prosecute the POE OTA unionists who attacked and injured mayors, including Mr Kaminis and Mr. Boutaris. Speaking on acts of violence, he stated that the government will do its duty to the end.

POE OTA officials are meeting right now in order to determine their stance in the coming days.