Minister asks court to rule university staff strike illegal
Athens University and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) are expected to reopen on Monday after Education Minister Constantinos Arvanitopoulos (photo) appealed to judicial authorities on Wednesday to declare as illegal and abusive a two-month strike by administrative staff that has paralyzed the institutions.
The NTUA was expected to reopen anyway after its academics, who had been striking in solidarity with administrative staff, stopped their action on Tuesday following an appeal by the ministry for an end to the impasse so students do not lose the first semester of the year. The staff are protesting the government’s plans to put them in a mobility scheme.
It was unclear whether professors at Athens University would follow the example of their NTUA peers. Meanwhile a prosecutor ordered an investigation into whether the rector of Athens University, Theodosis Pelegrinis, should be charged with violation of duty.
