Greece stopped by 24-hour general strike over cost of living – DW – 11/20/2024
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Greece ground to a halt as a general strike stopped trains, ships and other transport around the country. Unions have called for the government to raise wages and do more to combat high inflation.

Summary

A 24-hour general strike in Greece on Wednesday shut down transport, schools, and government offices as workers protested high living costs.

Unions are demanding a 10% pay raise and the return of holiday bonuses cut during Greece’s financial crisis.

They accuse Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of not doing enough to tackle inflation, despite recent minimum wage increases.

Hospitals operated on emergency staff, while protests and marches were planned.

Many say wages have not kept up with the rising costs of energy, food, and rent.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    1 month ago

    Union leaders don’t want to risk their position and union by breaking the law. American law highly restricts when a strike can happen. The punishment for companies is generally a fine or a do over for things like a ballot. Punishment for a Union is often the dissolution of the Union.

    Basically we need to completely rebuild the ideology around unions. Right now if a union were to strike illegally, get dissolved, stay on strike, and then prevent scabs from entering; they would be beaten, arrested, and ridiculed by fellow workers. We won’t ever see a large strike in the US until workers remember that they are the de facto source of wealth and start acting like it.