Minister warns trash collectors their jobs are at risk
Interior Minister Haris Kastanidis on Thursday called on municipal garbage collectors, who have been blockading the capital?s main landfill for days, to return to work or face serious repercussions including a possible change to the terms of their employment.
He added that staff who are striking or involved in the blockade would not be paid.
In a press conference held in Parliament because protesting workers were blocking the ministry, Kastanidis suggested that municipal sanitary units might be abolished.
Kastanidis?s deputy, Paris Koukoulopoulos, had said earlier in the day that private companies would undertake the cleanup of some 6,000 tons of trash from the streets of Athens.
Health Minister Andreas Loverdos threatened to force garbage collectors back to work by issuing an emergency order on health grounds.
