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Greek seamen's union blocks ferry departures
Oct 25, 2011, 13:37 GMT
Athens - Tensions escalated in the Greek port of Piraeus near Athens on Tuesday, as members of the Panhellenic Seamen's Union continued to block ferry departures, despite calling off a week-long strike against the government's austerity drive.
Hundreds of passengers clashed briefly with workers after they were prevented from boarding three ferries scheduled to depart for the Saronic Gulf, along with ferries heading to the islands of Chios and Mykonos.
Workers at several shipping firms said they would continue their protest action and disrupt ferry connections, despite a decision by the seamen's union to call off an eight-day strike.
The strike hampered passenger travel to the Greek islands and left some islands dangerously low on food, fuel and medical supplies.
The seamen object to changes to labour contracts.
Meanwhile transport came to a standstill, and traffic backed up for several kilometres in the streets of Athens on Tuesday in the latest 24-hour strike.
The walkout halted services on the Athens metro, buses, trolley buses and trams, while taxi drivers said they were planning their own strike action in the coming days to protest against the liberalization of their sector.
Public transport workers, who object to wage cuts and plans to push thousands of civil servants into early retirement or redundancy, protested in the city centre.
Greece is under growing pressure from its international creditors, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to cut its huge public deficit.
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