Union-Led General Strike Over Austerity Brings Greece to Standstill

A union that represents more than two million private sector workers in Greece said Wednesday that labor unions had "obvious" demands that pushed them to bring the country to a 24-hour standstill: "Pay rises and collective labor contracts now!"

The country's two main unions representing both the public and private sectors called the strike, which canceled all domestic and international flights for 24 hours starting at midnight Wednesday; left buses, trains, and other public transport operating for only part of the day; and eliminated ferry service and other public services for the day.

The unions are demanding a return to full collective bargaining rights, which were suspended in international bailout agreements during Greece's financial crisis from 2009-18.

"Before 2012, half of Greek workers had collective wage agreements," Yiorgos Christopoulos of the General Confederation of Workers (GSEE) told Al Jazeera. "But there was also a national wage agreement signed by employers and unions which meant more than 90% of workers enjoyed maternity leave."

Since the bailouts, Christopoulos said, "the government has put individual contracts at the heart of its policy. But individuals are powerless to bargain [with] their employers."

As the country relied on international bailouts worth about 290 billion euros ($319 billion) to stay afloat, wages and pensions were eroded.

Now, Kathimerinireported in January, three out of 10 Greeks in urban areas and more than 35% of people in the country as a whole are spending more than 40% of their income on housing and utilities.

Greece has the European Union's largest rate of people spending at least 40% on housing and essentials.

On top of that, said GSEE on Wednesday, "prices have gone so high that we're buying fewer goods by 10% compared to 2019."

"Workers' incomes are being devoured by rising costs, with no government response," said the union.

Author and political ecologist Patrick Bresnihan noted that the austerity policies remain even as the government approved 25 billion euros ($27 billion) for defense spending last week.

The government, controlled by the conservative New Democracy Party, recently increased the monthly minimum wage by 35% to 880 euros ($970). But Eurostat, the E.U.'s statistics agency, found earlier this year that the minimum salary in terms of purchasing power in Greece was still among the lowest in the bloc.

Officials have pledged to again raise the minimum wage to align more closely with the rest of the E.U., but the average salary is still 10% lower than in 2010.

The Civil Servants Confederation (ADEDY), is also demanding the return of holiday bonuses, which provided workers with two months' pay before the financial crisis.

One trade unionist, Alekos Perrakis, told Euronews that corporate profits are growing as working people continue to struggle.

"We demand that increases be given for all salaries, which aren't enough to last until even the 20th of the month," said Perrakis. "We demand immediate measures for health, for education, for all issues where the lives of workers are getting worse as the profits of large monopolies continue to grow."