A 24-hour strike and several demonstrations in Athens and other Greek cities demanding justice over a train derailment that killed 57 people threaten to paralyze much of Greece on Wednesday.
The strike, called by the civil servants’ union, was supported by maritime and urban transport workers, as well as doctors, teachers and actors, who, in turn, joined the staff of the railway sector.
On Tuesday, railroad workers ended their seventh day of strike in a row, demanding the modernization of the country’s railway network.
Given the already notified membership, most vehicles are due to stop across the country on Wednesday, from ships to trains passing through buses and trams, and metro and intercity transport workers are also considering joining the stop, the Greek press reported on Tuesday.
Demonstrations are scheduled to start at 12:00 local time (10:00 Lisbon) in the center of Athens and other cities, which could coincide with marches scheduled a few hours later on International Women’s Day.
In an appeal issued in a statement, the civil servants’ union elaborates that the leaders demand “an end to the privatization policy” in the railway sector and “the establishment of true responsibility for the murder.”
The union is referring to the biggest rail accident in Greek history, a head-on collision between two trains on March 1 that killed 57 people and injured dozens, mostly young students.
Twenty victims of the accident remain in the hospital, seven of them are in intensive care.
Thousands of Greeks have already taken to the streets of big cities over the weekend to protest against the government, which they accuse of negligence for not taking safety measures on the railway line that could have prevented the tragedy.
During the protests in Athens, several violent incidents were recorded in front of the parliament building.
The left-wing opposition party SYRIZA accused the conservative government of “ordering” the police to use tear gas against demonstrators who were mostly peacefully protesting.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged on Sunday that the rail network lacks security measures and automated control systems and asked all Greeks for “great forgiveness”.
The accident and the resulting wave of public outrage comes just a few weeks before the scheduled date for the next legislative election, April 9, although the authorities have already mentioned they are considering moving the vote to May.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.