Bank employees pin part of blame on Marfin
The Greek Federation of Bank Employees’ Unions (OTOE) yesterday requested a meeting with the citizens’ protection minister to press for the punishment of those responsible for the deaths of three bank employees at a branch of Marfin Egnatia Bank in central Athens on Wednesday, while accusing the bank of taking inadequate protective measures. «It is obvious that the tragic incident was not an accident or the consequence of bad luck; all indications are that this branch had not taken the necessary safety precautions stipulated by law in order to protect the lives of employees and customers,» the statement said. It went on to accuse the Marfin Egnatia administration of specific security failings, including the lack of protective iron bars at the entrance of the branch. «Besides all these elementary precautions, the bank did not even have the sensitivity or the common sense to instruct its employees at this branch not to work on a day of a general strike, as this branch was along the route taken by demonstrators,» it added. Marfin Egnatia Bank issued a response almost immediately, describing as «shameful» the OTOE statement as «it has devoted only three lines against the killers and the rest of the text against the ‘bad employers’ for the supposed lack of security measures. It has obviously conducted a thorough examination of the incident, completed the necessary investigation, drawn its conclusions and issued its condemnatory decision. Shame!» «In these difficult hours, absolute sorrow is mixing with infinite anger. It really is shameful that they do not allow us to grieve for our colleagues,» the bank’s response concluded.
