More transport chaos in store
Commuters in Athens face another difficult day today after metro workers called a second 24-hour strike, on the back of yesterday’s walkout, in protest at the failure to renew the short-term contracts of 286 colleagues. Today’s metro strike coincides with a five-hour work stoppage by employees on all forms of public transport, starting at 11 a.m. The workers are protesting impending pension reforms and cuts to salaries. Yesterday, the suspension of metro services aggravated congestion on the roads of the capital as Athenians who usually rely on the metro took to their cars. Metro workers have threatened to continue their protests over the next few days unless the decision to terminate the contracts of their colleagues is reversed. The Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Ministry issued a memo yesterday, clarifying that the case did not concern sackings but the nonrenewal of contracts.
