EKAB strike looks set to continue
Ambulance drivers, paramedics and other employees of the National First Aid Center (EKAB) said yesterday that they would continue with an indefinite strike, during which they say they will not cover any incident at Olympic facilities. They want a special Olympic bonus, which other employees, including the police, have been promised. Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis had asked EKAB employees to work more overtime so as to be paid more. On Saturday he urged them to consider their responsibilities in light of the Games and promised that all overtime work would be paid. EKAB’s employees repeated that they wanted the bonuses. «We are called on to work through the Olympics and Paralympics with an inhuman work schedule and exhausting hours (24 hours out of every 36) and we have been on a state of alert, without leave, since July 11,» their union said. They will have a general meeting today to decide on further action. From today, the Athens General State Hospital, the Evangelismos, Laiko, Sismanogleio, KAT and Red Cross hospitals will be open 24 hours a day for the Olympics.
