Workers at Athens Metro occupied the Metro depot at Sepolia suburb of north-eastern Athens, causing problems to thousands of passengers on Monday morning using Line 2 Agios Dimitrios-Agios Antonios. The occupation started at 2 o clock in the morning with the effect that a number of metro trains could not leave the depot and operate as usual. Currently there are delays of up to 10 minutes.
The actions aims to protest the cancellation of collective bargain and a planned privatization of Athens Metro, as workers claim. “There are attempts to show that Athens Metro S.A. is a deficit producing enterprise even though one million people use the metro on a daily basis.”
Athens Metro unionist say they will not suspend the occupation until an economic prosecutor will look into the finances of the company.
*LOL*
No public transport in Europe is profit making all are subsidised by national governments. These strikes harm innocent, suffering already, commuters.
That is true, and it is the nature of many “services” that they are just that, a service without the need or ability to “make profit”. that’s what we pay taxes for. Or at least, so goes the theory. In practice the taxes seem to belong to everybody and anybody except for those who pay them…
All privatization has ever accomplished anywhere is asset stripping of the highest order, and finally a buy back by the government who privatized in the first place. And meanwhile, the innocent, already suffering commuter suffers even more, at a higher price. Ever try catching a “privatized” train in the UK. Or drinking some of their “privatized” water…Or get service from the “privatized” phone company in Ireland….