Only two days after Greek riot police stormed a depot and forced striking Metro workers to return to work and stopped an eight-day work stoppage, an Athens court has ruled a planned strike by bus drivers is illegal.
There was no immediate word on whether the drivers would obey. The Metro workers ignored a similar court edict and defied Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ order to stop the strike until he sent in the police. They were protesting more planned pay cuts and wanted to be exempted from austerity measures, as Parliament workers have been, although Samaras said there would be no exceptions.
The bus drivers had announced plans to start a strike on Jan. 28 to show solidarity with the Metro system workers. Train engineers are expected to continue a strike through Jan. 28 which would disrupt connections from the Metro or regional rail to the city‘s airport. Should the bus drivers ignore the court warning, the only way to reach the airport would be by taxi or private vehicle.
Although they ignored a court order they didn’t agree with, Metro workers have appealed to the country‘s highest court, saying that being forced to work violates several national laws and international agreements. The government is breaking its collective bargaining agreement with the union and imposing mandatory cuts.
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