Protesters from the local government employee union POE-OTA have clashed with the riot police outside the Council of State in down town Athens, where a critical vote regarding the government’s dismissal and suspension scheme is taking place.
The police decided to intervene when the protesters attempted to block off the main road outside the building. The POE-OTA union has announced that a walk-out is in effect between 8am and noon, so that employees and supporters can attend the 9am rally outside the State Council building.
Meanwhile, the school wardens have arranged a new march from Thessaloniki to Athens, in protest of the suspensions, privatizations, changes to welfare and the presence of the troika. Convoys of cars from all over Greece will also head to Athens on the 14th of February.
Aside from the local government employee union, the union of secondary education teachers OLME, the Ministry of Culture’s employee union, the archeologist union and others have decided to participate in the demonstration outside the Council of State.
The protests of suspended employees will escalate as time goes on, since the 8-month suspension period for many will end in March, at which point the government will dismiss them. While the government’s original plan was to transfer suspended employees to understaffed areas of the public sector, it will “use” these suspensions to cover troika-mandated dismissals.
