ECONOMY

Petroleum strike to go on

Hellenic Petroleum workers yesterday said they planned to launch two four-day strikes next week under the auspices of other organizations as a tactic to circumvent a court verdict outlawing their planned 15-day strike. The workers laid down their tools last Wednesday and had planned to stay off work until July 18, with the industrial action intended to reinforce their opposition to the State’s sale of a 23.17-percent stake in Hellenic Petroleum. Hellenic Petroleum’s management took their case to the courts, arguing that the prolonged duration of the strike would create problems for electricity utility PPC, islands and remote areas. Agreeing with the argument, the Athens lower court yesterday ruled that the strike was illegal. It also threatened to slap 3,000-euro fines on strikers caught violating its ruling. Undeterred by the adverse verdict, Hellenic Petroleum workers yesterday said they had enlisted the support of the Panhellenic Federation of Workers in Petroleum Products, Refineries and Chemical Industry as well as labor centers in Elefsina and Thessaloniki for their next round of industrial action. «The federation will launch a four-day strike starting July 10. This will be followed by another four-day strike by the labor centers in Elefsina and Thessaloniki,» Costas Laskos, secretary-general of the Hellenic Petroleum workers’ union told Kathimerini English Edition. The move would also foil the court’s threat of hefty fines. He said trade union umbrella body GSEE is considering similar support. The government is currently negotiating with the consortium of the Latsis group and Russian oil giant Lukoil, with the proceedings expected to be finalized in the autumn. Hellenic Petroleum workers, however, argue the company can grow on its own. Dervis, a former World Banker drafted in to lead Turkey’s economic reforms after a severe financial crisis last year, has been widely tipped to join a political party before general elections set for April 2004.

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