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Anastasia Balezdrova

Only pharmacies on duty were open today in Greece. The Greek Pharmaceutical Union has decided that pharmacies will remain closed until Friday and whether the strikes will continue will be decided at a meeting next week.

Around 15 pharmacies were open in Athens, most of them in the city centre and in the neighbourhoods around it. However, there were no queues in front of them them unlike in Piraeus where pharmacies have closed since Monday.

I met Mr. Michalis near one of the pharmacies on duty to the central Omonia Square. He told me that he had come from the neighbourhood of Moshato which is at least 10 km away. "Pharmacists in our neighbourhood are on strike since Monday. So, I came here to take my medications," he said, however, pleased that he was able to obtain the necessary medicines.

Most of the people I spoke with in the pharmacy on duty on Stadiou Avenue are regular customers because they work in nearby shops and administrative buildings. Mr. Nikos also had come from not very far but still expressed his dissatisfaction with the strike. "If you look at the map you will see that pharmacies on duty are very small in number for such a big city. I do not know what are their demands but who suffers from the strike? We, the citizens, again."

Mr. Janis had a completely different opinion. "This is the only way they can express their protest. When the health fund for civil servants do not pay for the drugs of the insured how are they supposed to react?"

Pharmacists’ protest is against the bill on the liberalization of their profession which was tabled in Parliament in the afternoon today. It introduces all the changes the pharmacists’ strike opposes: pharmacies to be open on Monday and Wednesday afternoons and on Saturday, each pharmacy to correspond to 1000 people and full liberalization in issuing licenses for operation.

Pharmacists threaten to resort to the European Court in Strasbourg as they believe that the changes in the law oppose European legislation. For its part, the government spokesman called on them to realize their social role especially having in mind that they are licensed by the state for their activity.

All lawyers in the country except those in the capital are on strike from now until the end of the week. However, the plenum of the bar continues its negotiations with the Ministries of Finance and Justice.

Irregardless of the avalanche of strikes the Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said that the government wouldl not give up the liberalization of closed professions "despite the political cost." At today's meeting of the council of ministers he introduced a bill which provides for the abolition of minimum benefits for lawyers and engineers and the cancellation of all geographic and population-related restrictions for lawyers, engineers, accountants and architects. Changes for notaries are also provided although they are not so serious. At the same time restrictions that apply to about 160 occupations are cancelled too.

He ordered a survey on the issues to be conducted in parallel. The professional groups affected by the changes (lawyers, engineers, pharmacists and others.) responded very sharply. Therefore, the government wants to present in response the survey considering that public opinion will support the liberalization of closed professions. Yesterday the Minister said: "We will go ahead because the changes affect the entire society. It is clear what will be the benefits for consumers and young people who want to exercise a closed profession today. They will help the competition; they will contribute to the decline in prices of services and their improvement."

The sociological survey asked by the Minister of Finance is expected to be ready before the vote on the bill in Parliament. The surveying agency Metron Analysis will conduct opinion polls through telephone interviews of 1000 persons over the age of 18 years.

At the same time some of the public transport companies continue their strikes. Buses and trolley were not running between 11.00 am and 3.30 pm and the strike will be repeated tomorrow. The railways announced a 48-hour strike that cancelled international routes too.

The Ministry of Transport continues the dialogue with representatives of workers in urban transport. According to sources from the office, talks are constructive and the atmosphere is positive, although unionists opposed to certain provisions in the law. In particular, the employees in the Athens underground which say they are not in the category of state-owned companies have drawn "red line" on reducing their income, abolition of collective agreements and dismissals.