The civil servants' union federation ADEDY and the GENOP-DEH trade union representing staff at Greece's Public Power Corporation (PPC) on Tuesday announced plans for strike action opposing a planned privatisation of the power utility.
"The privatisation of the last great public utility in a critical sector for the prospects of the country, the economy and society effectively neuters a major public tool for socio-economic growth, which must serve public and social interests, not private interests," an announcement by the unions said after a meeting on Tuesday.
The two sides agreed that measures should be taken to ensure that the country was not "plunged into darkness" during the PPC strike, saying that this was a shared goal. They also stressed, however, that this would not mean that there could be strikes without repercussions.
ADEDY stressed that energy was an economic figure of strategic significance and a social good, with government powers to decide pricing policy being directly linked with policies for cheap rates for the public.
The union federation also supported that starting with the general strike on May 11, the issue of the PPC's privatisation would enter a new cycle of dynamic mobilisations that would aim to put a stop to policies for lowering living standards.
ANA
