Workers at Greece's biggest refiner, Hellenic Petroleum SA, will
suspend a strike which has crippled production and fuel supplies, their trade union federation said on Tuesday.The walkout, which started on April 3 and which unions had initially decided to extend to April 19, will be stopped to give negotiations with the company's management a chance.
"In order to facilitate talks ... the federation suspends its seven-day strike," the panhellenic federation of employees in petroleum products-refineries said in a statement.
Talks between workers and management will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, Evangelos Stranis, Hellenic Petroleum spokesman, told Reuters. Fuel deliveries to clients are expected to resume early on Wednesday, he added.
Hellenic Petroleum's workers started the walkout on April 3 to demand more hirings for the company's new refinery units and thwart management plans to link their wages with productivity.
Production at all three of Hellenic's refineries in Greece has ground to a halt. A company official who declined to be named said last week that fuel deliveries to clients had shrunk to about 10 to 15 percent of normal.
Management is seeking to curb the company's wage bill and link salaries to productivity, saying Hellenic's workers get more pay than German or Dutch peers for less work.
by Renee Maltezou and Harry Papachristou
source: Reuters
