The public sector trade union ADEDY launched a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in response to a recent Athens court order which ruled that their abstention from the staff review procedures to be “illegal and abusive”.

Local government employee federation POE-OTA also participated in the strike, as it is current in conflict wit the coalition government over review of appointments in the public sector. Public hospitals, health centers, welfare units and emergency services will operate with security staff today, as the employees of the national healthcare system (ESY) have also joined the strike.

ADEDY’s demonstration began outside the Supreme Court at about 9:30am, where the public sector unionists joined dismissed cleaners, who were protesting the Finance Ministry’s appeal against the court ruling in favor of their reinstatement. The protesters then marched on through the streets of Athens to the Ministry of Finances.

The trade union’s Executive Committee announced that it will continue to abstain from staff review and appointment procedures in the public sector and accused the government of “enlisting justice to combat the strike of employees in the public sector and is implementing a policy of criminalization of union struggle, aiming the fully abolish the right to strike”.

Meanwhile the federations of doctor and healthcare employees have announced their intention to mobilize “against the bailout policies that are destroying and privatizing the national healthcare system” on the 1st and 2nd of October. The federations are also considering launching a country-wide 24-hour strike in healthcare services and demonstration outside the Ministry of Health on the 2nd of October.