Playing games with public health
A part from creating a citywide eyesore, the ongoing strike action by municipal garbage collectors has also infected the very air we breathe, posing a risk to public health. The protesters’ demand that their profession be classified as potentially hazardous for their health and safety is hardly illogical. Their job is indeed difficult and even risky at times. But this is only one side of the coin. The other – and most important – concern is that the workers’ sector has become fertile ground for certain rackets which are playing trade union games and engaging in illicit financial transactions. Indeed, however strange it may seem, our garbage is regarded as gold dust by these dubious circles. And this is one of the reasons that our country is in the state it is in – more reminiscent of the Third World than Europe. Following many years of public debate and endless government discussions, not even Greece’s capital has been equipped with a modern system for disposing of and processing the trash that it produces. And unfortunately, it has also been many years since the European Commission first proffered advice – and then warnings – to Greece over its inadequate waste disposal practices. In other words, there is absolutely no justification for the current situation. And of course, this is not a problem that can be solved by simply offering street cleaners a bonus. With things as they are, there is not a day to lose. Of course, the government is obliged to deal with the repercussions of this strike – namely the piles of garbage currently littering our streets – but it must also act quickly to find a decisive solution to the problem. In practical terms, this means that it must start planning the construction of a network of special waste processing units. A state that truly respects its citizens would make this duty a priority.
