«Water is up for sale, life is up for sale,» reads the banner across the front of the Thessaloniki Water Company offices as EYATH employees staged a sit-in on Friday in protest at the planned privatization of the Macedonian city’s water utility.

In a statement, the employees’ union said the symbolic sit-in was organized due to the board’s decision to hold the company’s general meeting «behind closed doors without inviting the employees or their representatives."

As a result, the EYATH offices remained shut throughout the day and there were no transactions with the public on the last working day of the month.

The country’s privatization efforts have stalled this year, with the new government promising its creditors it will restart them as soon as possible.