Wait for metro may get longer
In the latest gambit in a dispute between employees and management that has been going on for the past few weeks, Athens metro staff are warning commuters to expect long waits for their trains as of this week, because the short-term contracts of dozens of workers are coming to an end and will not be renewed. The summer leave taken by metro staff means that trains depart every 10 minutes rather than the usual seven minutes but workers say that waiting times will only get longer if AMEL, the metro operator, goes ahead with plans not to renew the contracts of 286 employees. So far, seven drivers have been let go and another 13 are due to leave in the next few days. Another 46 people who work at stations will also be allowed to leave when their contracts run out. Unions are advising workers not to apply for the two-month rolling contracts that AMEL will offer to people to fill the positions.
