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Sunday, 24 November 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-08-16Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Bank workers' strike gets off to a rocky startThe 24-hour bank workers' strike got off to a rocky start on Tuesday morning, when strikers were violently pushed back from the entrance of Emporiki Bank on Sophocleous Street in downtown Athens by police special forces (MAT).According to OTOE trade union President Dimitris Tsoukalas, MAT forces had been called in by the bank governor himself, George Provopoulos. Bank workers are striking in protest at the new pensions law, which OTOE claims will hurt many of its members by raising the pensionable age and lowering supplementary pensions. Tsoukalas claimed that a large percentage of bank workers are participating in today's strike. Before the bill gained parliamentary approval, the union had sought a single supplementary pension system for the sector and opposed alignment of pensions with the main state fund. Strikers are scheduled to hold a demonstration outside the bank's offices at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, coinciding with the beginning of the bank's general shareholders meeting. Bank employees staged a series of weekly 24-hour strikes in January and February this year and again in the spring before the bill became law after rejecting proposals by the government and employers. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |