The DEI employee strike officially came to an end at midnight on Sunday, with the employee union GENOP DEI making the announcement after a long board meeting discussion on Sunday and the government’s civil mobilization orders. The federation’s management however vowed to continue its struggle with different means and stated that the civil mobilization orders were issued because GENOP “resisted the bailout government’s plans”.
Additionally, the federation points out that it did not break the law and demonstrated social awareness and argued that there was not energy shortage “as revealed by the judicial decision that is to be published”. According to DEI, the production of energy has gradually been restored as employees are returning to their posts and power plants are resuming operations.
Political reactions to the strike
On Sunday morning the government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi stated on Mega Channel that the “strike was instigated” and claimed that the courts found it illegal and abusive because it did not have a unionist demands. New Democracy’s parliamentary representative Adonis Georgiadis stated that “the law will be implemented and anyone not complying will face the consequences”. In an interview for the Eleftheros Typos newspaper the Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke of “unionist dictators who cause hardship to the people and burden Greek taxpayers”.
SYRIZA’s Panos Skourletis argued that the government’s plans regarding the privatization of DEI “serve specific financial interests and lead to oligopolies” and stressed that the government’s refusal to carry out a referendum over the privatization “reveals its fear of the Greek people and its ability to freely express its opinion”.
The president of DEI’s administrative employees Giorgos Bitzas appeared on SKAI argued that the government is “about to set up a cartel” in the energy sector, while SYRIZA MEP Giorgos Katrougalos dubbed the civil mobilization orders “an anti-people and totally unconstitutional measure”, while calling for civil disobedience.
