ISS: Port workers in Greece to strike again today

Multiple strike actions called by both public and private sector unions in response to planned changes to labor and insurance rights, pensions and retirement ages are expected to begin today, according to Inchcape Shipping Services.    Dockworkers in Greece are expected to engage in a 24-hour general strike and the Seamen’s Union is scheduling a 48-hour strike both of which start today, Feb. 4 at 6 a.m. local time, according to a customer advisory from Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS).
   The strike actions, called in response to planned changes to labor and insurance rights, pensions and retirement ages, will affect commercial vessel operations calling at the ports of Piraeus, Aspropyrgos, Eleusis, Pachi and Megara, as well as domestic and local ferry routes.
   “During the stoppage period, vessels will not be able to berth, shift or sail from the affected ports,” said ISS.
   The announcement comes just one week after the Hellenic Crew Union and the Towage and Salvage Crew Union of Piraeus called a similar 48-hour strike.
   The week before, Greece accepted state-owned China COSCO Holdings Company Ltd.’s €368.5 million (U.S. $402.1 million) offer to purchase a 67 percent stake of Piraeus Port Authority S.A. The Greek government agreed to the privatization of port of Piraeus, the country’s largest cargo gateway, and the northern port of Thessaloniki as part of its latest bailout deal with the European Union.