Seafarers in Greece are on strike for higher wages for the third day in a row. Some islands that do not have an airport remain cut off from the outside world – a problem for residents and tourists.
Due to a seafarers' strike, the ferries in Greece have been stopped for the third day in a row. There will be no ferry traffic tomorrow either. Tourists and residents of islands that do not have an airport remain cut off from the outside world. There are bottlenecks in the supply of some islands, reported Greek television.
The Greek seafarers' union PNO is demanding twelve percent more wages for its members; the shipping companies have so far only offered three percent.
PNO is also pushing for a restoration of rights that were significantly curtailed as part of several international rescue packages between 2010 and 2018. This includes a regulation that allows ferry companies to only offer connections four months per year. According to the union, this turns seafarers into seasonal workers. The union is threatening to extend the strike indefinitely.
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That would disrupt the travel plans of thousands of Greeks who are planning a long weekend on a Greek island before the national holiday on Monday. Because of the numerous inhabited islands, ferry traffic is as important in Greece as rail traffic is in other European countries.
The austerity measures implemented as a condition of the loans included drastic cuts in public spending, tax increases and reforms that weakened collective bargaining rules. The teachers' union also protested against this yesterday.
