8 October 2008 | The electric, air and rail transport in Greece will be blocked by a strike, organised by the General Confederation of Greek Labour (GCEE) – a union of about 2 million workers, national media reported.

The strike aims to protest the government’s privatisation plans and economic policies, Greek media noted.

Employees of Athens’s subway will halt work for 24 hours, while there will be three-hour stops in the functioning of Athens’s electric railway, bus and trolley transport, the state hospitals, the public telecom operator OTE and the water supply organisation.

About 50 domestic and international flights by the national air carrier Olympic Airlines were cancelled and traffic of the Greek rail ways trains is halted, the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, quoting Greek media, reported. Employees of the post service and the electric company are also participating in the protest.

The strikers’ demand the signing of collective work contracts and the improvement of the state companies’ work.

GCEE plans to organise a general 24-hour strike on October 21. It is thought, BTA noted, that this strike will be the culmination of the protests against the government’s economic policies and next year’s proposed budget which was submitted to Parliament.

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