Teachers planning strike, protest rally for Monday
Greek teachers are to hold a demonstration on Monday, protesting a new system of appointing teachers to state schools which they claim is unfair to those with years of experience in the public sector.
The union representing primary school teachers, known by its acronym DOE, has called on its members to stage a 24-hour strike on Monday while the secondary teachers’ union, OLME, has called a three-hour walkout from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Both unions have called on members and supporters to gather outside Parliament at 3 p.m. to protest the new legislation.
The action follows a rally on Friday that turned violent when protesters clashed with police close to Parliament.
Riot police fired tear gas to prevent protesters from forcing their way past a cordon outside the House and pushed back demonstrators trying to breach a barrier near the Maximos Mansion.
The Greek Police ordered an investigation into claims of excessive force by certain riot police officers that resulted in a Communist Party MP and a DOE unionist being hospitalized with injuries.
Citizens’ Protection Minister Olga Gerovasili referred to “unacceptable and politically dangerous acts by certain members of the riot police.”
