No Metro on Wednesday either

Employees of public transportation means are responding with an escalation of their protests, although the new Metro strike was ruled illegal by the First Instance Court of Athens, as was the case yesterday.

At a meeting held today, Tuesday, they expressed a common front against "governmental arbitrariness." The workers’ demand is to retain the collective labour agreements and not privatize the steady track means of transport.

In particular, they decided on the following:

-   work stoppage in the Metro and Tram on Wednesday, January 23 (time not yet known)

-   new strike on the Metro (seventh consecutive day) from the beginning to the end of operation on Wednesday, January 23

-   work stoppage on buses from 11 am to 4pm on Thursday, January 24

-   work stoppage in all means of transport on Tuesday, January 29 and Thursday, 31

During the meeting, attended by union representatives from all bodies of  the sector, the employees complained about the government and the Transport ministry’s attempts to penalize their protests.

On Tuesday, District Attorney of Athens head Panagiota Fakou ordered an investigation into the Metro strike in response to reports according to which only a few workers participated in the strike, while the majority has requested and has been given leaves of absence but is getting paid normally. The aim is to identify any criminal responsibility.

Fakou is expected to ask for the decision of the First Instance Court of Athens, which has ruled the Metro protests illegal, in order to determine her next step.