Who’s being punished?

There is a lot that can be said – and none of it good – about the strike by workers on the Athens metro on Thursday that caused so many problems not just for thousands of commuters but also motorists who ended up stuck in traffic jams. 

The union representing the workers at the company that operates the metro, STASY, issued an announcement on Wednesday explaining this antisocial behavior.

It said that the strike was called in response to the chaos that has been caused by plans to privatize the transport company. 

On Thursday, it issued another announcement saying that the strike is all about showing solidarity with passengers who are having to wait in long queues to get a new electronic ticket. 

STASY basically tried to justify punishing commuters by claiming to be striking for their benefit.