Transport to halt Thursday, Friday

There will be no public transport services at all on Thursday and Friday as workers are to stage the latest in a series of walkouts in protest at further wage cuts in the public sector and the government?s plans to push thousands of civil servants into early retirement or dismissal.

Employees in several other sectors have also called strikes and stoppages. Seamen and port workers said they would stage a work stoppage on Wednesday morning, from dawn to 11 a.m. and a 48-hour strike from 6 a.m. on Monday. The walkouts will disrupt scheduled ferry departures so travelers are advised to check with ticket offices.

Lawyers, who are protesting the government?s plans to open their sector to competition, also called a walkout for Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, as thousands of tons of garbage pile up on the streets of Athens, municipal employees said on Tuesday that they were intent on continuing a blockade of the capital?s main landfill at Ano Liosia in northwestern Athens.

Employees at Hellenic Petroleum, who had been planning a walkout, called off their action amid reports that the government had decided to exempt state-owned companies that are listed on the local stock exchange from new provisions that set a ceiling on salaries. Public Power Corporation staff also reportedly decided not to strike for the same reason.

The strike action is to peak next week with sources indicating that a 24-hour general strike called for Wednesday would be extended into a 48-hour strike, starting on Tuesday.

Some civil servants are to extend their action further with tax collectors to strike from Monday through Thursday and customs workers from Tuesday through next Saturday.

On Tuesday, protesting civil servants blocked the general accounting office and continued sit-ins at several ministries.