All journalists will be on strike tomorrow and Greece will be in information darkness for 24 hours. Decision to go out on the streets and protect their rights for stable employment, health insurance and social security, took teachers and employees working for citizens service centers.
The union of journalists in Athens decided to get out on a 24-hour strike from 06:00AM on Thursday to 06:00PM on Friday. Journalists and employees of publications and media will gather for a protest demonstration in front of the Union at 11:00AM. They will protest against layoffs, change in labor relations and attacks on pension rights. TV channels have already started to change their programs and are planning to include entertainment programs during news broadcasts hours.
In a press release, journalists have announced that their problems and those of others working in newspapers, television and radio are increasing daily. Layoffs have become an everyday occurrence and elastic form of employment is a general rule. Free, democratic and essential information have become victims of mercantilism and competition. The labor and pension rights of workers are not counted, and the new measures of the government, which aim to emerge from the crisis, will cancel out all rights won so far.
Ta Nea newspaper writes that journalists want to stop redundancies so that substantial measures can be taken in order to support unemployed. Journalists demand full time jobs for all with guaranteed employment and pension rights. They want to put an end to elastic work hours and to change the status of employees working on seasonal contracts, because this way they become hostages to the employers. Substantial salary and pensions increase is needed as well as the verbatim implementation of collective labor contracts. Journalists announced they are against the new pension measures and the repeal of all laws for the pension insurance system.
A 24-hour strike was announced today by the Federation of teachers in Greece, who are protesting against the introduction of the budget in parliament and against the declaration by the Minister of Education of the new way of recruitment. At 11:30PM today, teachers will gather at a rally in front of the Ministry of Education and their demands are for the increase in education expenses to 5% of GDP, the gross salary of new employees to start from €1 400, to repeal the system of hourly employment, fair pension, permanent and stable employment for all, two-year pre-school for all children, pedagogical freedom and democracy in schools. In general, teachers want to start a dialogue on a clean slate.
In addition to the teachers and journalists strikes, today the Customer Service centers will remain closed for a second day, because the employees are also on strike. Their demands are to recognize their work as a done service and to open new job positions. Many of these centers can stop working, because most of the employees are on temporary contracts rather than permanent employment. They want a meeting at the Ministry of Interior so that their demands can be solved.
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