Trash piling up in cities as municipal workers strike

As trash started to pile up on city streets over the weekend amid reactions from sanitation workers to plans to privatize some garbage collections, the municipal authorities of Athens and Thessaloniki appealed to residents on Monday not to take out their trash on Tuesday and Wednesday at least.

Speaking to Athens 98.4 radio on Monday, the vice-president of the POE-OTA union of municipal workers, Vassilis Gitakos, said some trash had been collected and would only resume once the government has agreed to the union's demands.

However, he added, trash would be collected from high-risk areas like schools and hospitals, as well as after farmers' markets.

Gitakos said that POE-OTA is also prepared to escalate its action.

The union will be holding rallies in downtown Athens and Thessaloniki on Wednesday morning.