Greek workers shut down everything for 24 hours

One of the largest strikes in recent years took place on November 20 in Greece, according to its organizers. Workers across various sectors, including construction, education, healthcare, tourism, and others, brought nearly everything to a halt, as central squares in major cities were flooded with striking protesters. Strikes in the food sector kept many warehouses shut down, while no foodstuffs were transferred by sea, as the strike was backed by workers in the ports and on ships all over Greece.

The primary demands of the strikers, as expressed during the country’s largest gathering in Athens, were “Collective Labor Agreements with wage increases,” “Funding for health and education,” and “No involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Palestine.” This nationwide strike followed repeated strikes and anti-war demonstrations in separate sectors over the past months, but yesterday’s action was called in response to the submission of the 2025 national budget proposal and its outlined provisions.

The strike rally in Athens spanned the entire length of Panepistimiou Street, the city’s main thoroughfare.

According to the final draft of the new budget, households and individuals will be required to pay about 95% of a total €69,2 billion in taxes next year, an increase of €2,49 billion or 3,7% compared to 2024. A significant portion of these revenues will come from VAT and other similar taxes on basic consumer goods, energy, and foodstuffs, whose prices have already soared due to inflation, without a corresponding increase in wages.

“We demand Collective Labor Agreements with wage increases that meet our needs,” stated Damianos Voudigaris, vice president of the dockworkers’ union in the largest commercial port, Piraeus, which remained blocked by the striking dockworkers. On the contrary, the Greek government’s plan rejects this demand and ties the minimum wage to the country’s economic growth rate. This practice, though without full legislative backing, has kept wages low for several years now, while the government’s new plan includes certain clauses for avoiding wage increases.

Strike picket at the commercial section of the Port of Piraeus.

The Greek government also plans to maintain low recruitment and wages for the public healthcare and school systems, citing the country’s commitments to the European Union and the fiscal constraints of the economy as reasons to this. Unions denounce that this has led to significant staff shortages across Greece. This shortage is even more severe on over 200 inhabited Greek islands, as the cost of renting housing on these tourism-heavy places is exorbitantly high, discouraging potential doctors and teachers from applying for positions there or forcing them to resign within days.

The government also increases patients’ involvement in paying for their therapy. “The government sees patients as clients and health as a good for sale. We don’t accept improving our earnings by putting our hand in our patients’ pockets,” stresses Yorgos Ferentinos, president of the staff union in Evangelismos, the biggest hospital in Greece, which also took part in the strike.