Greece: links with the islands interrupted by a ferry strike
A ship of the Greek company Blue Star moored during a 48-hour strike in the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, on November 10, 2021. AP - Michael Varaklas
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The ferries from the port of Piraeus connecting Athens to the Greek islands have been docked since Wednesday morning for a 48-hour strike.
Across the country, a total of a hundred boats are currently immobilized at the call of a union of sailors.
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With our correspondent in Athens,
Joël Bronner
Maintained at the quayside at the port of Piraeus, two large blue and white ferries from the Greek company Blue Star will not reach the Cyclades islands as usual.
Today, they serve as the backdrop to a gathering of dozens of strikers from the maritime sector.
“
What can we do to be heard apart from disrupting maritime traffic
?
It has been ten days since we announced our intention to strike.
The government and the boat owners are well aware of our demands.
This strike is not a surprise.
We are simply asking to be heard,
”said Athanasios Evangelakis, president of the Merchant Marine Engineers Union.
Rising wages, better social protection, renewal of temporary contracts and an increase in permanent jobs in the maritime sector are among the main demands of the strikers.
"
Our demands are not new, we have expressed them on
numerous occasions
, in particular by demonstrating,"
underlines Angelos Galanopoulos, president of a union of engine manufacturers.
As long as our problems persist, we will continue our protest movement.
"
In the meantime, the majority of Greek islands, deprived of ferries and without an airport, find themselves temporarily cut off from the world.
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