File spoon-archives/aut-op-sy.archive/aut-op-sy_1997/97-02-01.064, message 41


From: "Curtis Price" <cansv-AT-igc.apc.org>
Date:          Sun, 26 Jan 1997 23:31:53 +0000
Subject:       (Fwd) [72] NATIONWIDE LABOR WALKOUT AS SEAMEN END 11-DAY STRIK


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Thu, 23 Jan 1997 23:07:03 -0500
From:          NewsHound-AT-sjmercury.com (NewsHound)

Subject:       [72] NATIONWIDE LABOR WALKOUT AS SEAMEN END 11-DAY STRIKE

Selected by your NewsHound profile entitled "STRIKES". The selectivity score was
 72 out of 100.

Nationwide labor walkout as seamen end 11-day strike
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Thousands of unionized workers walked off the job 
Thursday to protest higher taxes, while seamen ended their 11-day strike, which 
had left dozens of Greek islands without fresh food and medicine.

The one-day nationwide strike by the country's largest labor union -- the 
General Confederation of Greek Workers -- nearly crippled Athens, shutting down 
banks and offices and halting mass transit.

At the same time, however, ships at ports around the country began taking 
hundreds of stranded trucks to the dozens of Aegean Sea islands in desperate 
need of supplies.

Ships also began ferrying hundreds of stranded trucks to and from Italy, 
Greece's main gateway to Europe.

Cargo vessels on the island of Crete, a main producer of fruit and vegetables, 
also began steaming to the mainland loaded with perishables. The strike cost 
producers there an estimated $125 million.

The General Confederation called Thursday's strike to protest austerity measures
 implemented by Premier Costas Simitis' government. The toughest in 15 years, 
they impose higher taxes as well as an end to tax breaks.

Hardest hit was Athens, where thousands of demonstrators clogged traffic 
downtown as they marched to Parliament carrying placards and shouting slogans.

The seamen called off their protest after reaching a compromise solution with 
government negotiators at dawn Thursday over tax breaks and new income taxes.

The government says its belt-tightening measures are needed to meet strict 
economic criteria for participation in the European Union's single currency 
program. Greece is the worst economic performer in the 15-nation EU, despite 
years of austerity measures by conservative and socialist governments.

AP-WS-01-23-97 1812EST


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