Workers in Greece Strike in Protest to the Rising Cost of Living

Labor Unions in Greece have called a 24-hour strike on Wednesday in protest of the rise in the cost of living that affects hundreds of thousands of workers.

“We cannot live with dignity” is the central message of the protest organized by the Greek General Confederation of Labor (GSEE), the largest labor union in Greece.

GSEE says that despite increases to the minimum wage, thousands are in a worse economic situation than during the period of the economic crisis.

This month, Greece raised its monthly minimum gross wage by 6.4 percent to 830 euros, the fourth such increase in five years, as the country has been recovering from a decade-long financial crisis.

But workers say the increase in their wages is not enough to keep up with rising food and housing costs.

“The message is clear. Workers can’t make ends meet with bottom-most wages and ballooning prices,” GSEE, which represents some 2.5 million workers, said in a statement.

In a press briefing, GSEE says the rise in minimum wage will affect only 22 percent of all workers. “Workers remain stuck in the poverty zone and demand immediate and drastic measures to protect their income,” GSEE says.

“The increase in the minimum wage is not at the poverty line, it is poverty itself,” it notes and calls for a price cap on basic consumer goods for one year.”

Strike in Greece will paralyze public transport

The strike is expected to impact public transport services across Greece. During the strike, all three lines of the Athens metro and tram will be out of service while city buses will operate on a limited schedule from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Taxi drivers are holding a work stoppage from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. The national railway will also be affected, with the managing company, Hellenic Trains, announcing changes and cancelations on their website.

Additionally, the country’s seamen federation PNO will participate in the strike, resulting in ferries and boats remaining docked nationwide for the full 24 hours.

GSEE unionists will stage a protest rally at Klafthmonos Square at 11 a.m., while PAME, a union associated with the Greek Communist Party (KKE), will hold a separate rally a bit earlier at 10:30 a.m. at Syntagma Square. Delivery workers will conduct a protest motorcade in the center of the capital, commencing from Pedion tou Areos park at 5 p.m.

Greek journalists held a 24-hour strike Tuesday to protest the employers’ refusal to sign collective labor agreements in privately owned media, low wages, and a threat to plurality, their union said.

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