Garbage mounting in Piraeus due to strike
Garbage collectors in Piraeus yesterday refused to abandon a strike over pay that has resulted in piles of refuse accumulating in the streets of the coastal municipality. «We cannot work without pay – we are sorry for the citizens of Piraeus but this is not our fault,» said the union, representing some 500 workers who have also been blocking the local landfill. Staff claim they have not been paid for seven months of overtime work. Tourists arriving at the port by ferry have reportedly been taking snapshots of the piles of garbage lining the coast. But according to Piraeus Mayor Panayiotis Fassoulas there is more behind the strike than unsatisfied workers. The mayor referred to «organized interests» that are allegedly trying to curb efforts «to reform the municipality’s sanitation unit.» Fassoulas did not elaborate but he also mentioned his municipality’s war on fuel smuggling.
