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Greek strike against pension reform hits tourism
Source: Agencies |
June 29, 2010, Tuesday
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HUNDREDS of tourists were stranded in Greece's main port today when workers staged a one-day nationwide strike that will gauge discontent with a radical pension reform aimed at helping solve the debt crisis.
Hospitals operated with emergency staff only, and banks and local media were shut in the fifth joint walkout by major public and private sector unions this year.
Some 500 PAME communist workers blocked Athens' port in nearby Piraeus, keeping about as many tourists from walking through the gates, a Reuters witness said.
Tourists, some with babies and others trying to reach their wedding destination, shouted at the strikers who urged them to join their fight against austerity measures imposed to win a 110 billion euro ($135.8 billion) bailout by the EU and IMF.
Some tried, in vain, to reach ferries through gaps in the gates.
"I am supposed to get married in Santorini, my family is coming and I can't get through," US tourist Kristin Shakavic said. "They are blocking us and I am so frustrated."
Repeated strikes, protests that have sometimes turned violent and a rise in small bomb attacks since riots in 2008 have hurt tourism, which accounts for nearly a fifth of Greece's 240 billion euro ($297 billion) economy. A senior official was killed last week by a booby-trapped bomb.
"Athens is important and famous. I don't understand this. It is losing tourists," 26-year-old Korean student Min Hyosik said as he walked through central Athens with a group, complaining that the Archaeological Museum and shops were shut because of the strike.
ATHENS MARCH
The blockage of ports on strike days has become a major bone of contention in Greece.
"Especially in this period of time, it is obvious that workers have every right to protest," financial daily Imerisia wrote. "(But) if the Greek tourist industry is irreparably damaged, the consequences will be negative for all."
Public transport was only disrupted in early morning and late afternoon, to allow people to join a 0900 GMT protest in Athens, and international flights were not affected, in an attempt to minimise the impact of the strike on tourism.
A few ferries managed to leave Piraeus port in the early morning, a coastguard official said.
Thousands of civil servants and private sector workers are expected to march in Athens, as parliament starts to discuss the reform which raises the retirement age, cuts benefits and curtails early pensions.
"These measures won't help. They will only lead to deeper recession and poverty," said Despina Spanou, board member of public sector union ADEDY.
The size of the protest will give an indication of the opposition the ruling Socialists face as they struggle to implement austerity steps designed by the EU and the IMF.
Participation in protests has waned, partly as Athenians escape to the islands for summer holidays. But unions representing about 2.5 million workers -- half the Greek workforce -- said they expected big public support today.
At a peak of public protests, about 50,000 people marched in Athens on May 5. That day, three people were killed in the fire-bombing of an Athens bank. About 25,000 people turned out for the last similar strike on May 20.
The government has a majority with 157 seats in the 300-seat parliament and should be able to pass the reforms despite some opposition within the socialist party.
Hospitals operated with emergency staff only, and banks and local media were shut in the fifth joint walkout by major public and private sector unions this year.
Some 500 PAME communist workers blocked Athens' port in nearby Piraeus, keeping about as many tourists from walking through the gates, a Reuters witness said.
Tourists, some with babies and others trying to reach their wedding destination, shouted at the strikers who urged them to join their fight against austerity measures imposed to win a 110 billion euro ($135.8 billion) bailout by the EU and IMF.
Some tried, in vain, to reach ferries through gaps in the gates.
"I am supposed to get married in Santorini, my family is coming and I can't get through," US tourist Kristin Shakavic said. "They are blocking us and I am so frustrated."
Repeated strikes, protests that have sometimes turned violent and a rise in small bomb attacks since riots in 2008 have hurt tourism, which accounts for nearly a fifth of Greece's 240 billion euro ($297 billion) economy. A senior official was killed last week by a booby-trapped bomb.
"Athens is important and famous. I don't understand this. It is losing tourists," 26-year-old Korean student Min Hyosik said as he walked through central Athens with a group, complaining that the Archaeological Museum and shops were shut because of the strike.
ATHENS MARCH
The blockage of ports on strike days has become a major bone of contention in Greece.
"Especially in this period of time, it is obvious that workers have every right to protest," financial daily Imerisia wrote. "(But) if the Greek tourist industry is irreparably damaged, the consequences will be negative for all."
Public transport was only disrupted in early morning and late afternoon, to allow people to join a 0900 GMT protest in Athens, and international flights were not affected, in an attempt to minimise the impact of the strike on tourism.
A few ferries managed to leave Piraeus port in the early morning, a coastguard official said.
Thousands of civil servants and private sector workers are expected to march in Athens, as parliament starts to discuss the reform which raises the retirement age, cuts benefits and curtails early pensions.
"These measures won't help. They will only lead to deeper recession and poverty," said Despina Spanou, board member of public sector union ADEDY.
The size of the protest will give an indication of the opposition the ruling Socialists face as they struggle to implement austerity steps designed by the EU and the IMF.
Participation in protests has waned, partly as Athenians escape to the islands for summer holidays. But unions representing about 2.5 million workers -- half the Greek workforce -- said they expected big public support today.
At a peak of public protests, about 50,000 people marched in Athens on May 5. That day, three people were killed in the fire-bombing of an Athens bank. About 25,000 people turned out for the last similar strike on May 20.
The government has a majority with 157 seats in the 300-seat parliament and should be able to pass the reforms despite some opposition within the socialist party.
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