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For the sixth day in a row, Athens is in the grip of the public transport workers' strike. The underground is not working at all and buses and trolley buses are running for just a few hours.

It has become clear today that the trade unions of public transport and railways are preparing to announce a strike in all means of public transport on 29 and 31 January. The probability of the residents of Athens becoming prisoners of the protesters is expected to be discussed in the coming days during the general meetings of the trade unions. It is possible tha the strike may continue this week as the workers of the underground, electric train and tram transport have announced hourly work stoppages. On Thursday, their colleagues from the bus and trolley bus transport will not work between 11 am and 5 pm, when they will hold their general meeting.

The District Court in Athens declared the strike of the underground, electric train and tram transport illegal, but the workers have so far refused to comply with its judgment. In addition, their union leaders are adamant that if the government fulfils its threat to declare a civil mobilization in order to force the workers to return to work, they will respond to "the war with a war."

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office in Athens has launched an investigation to determine how many employees effectively participate in the strike, i.e. without receiving payment for the days on which they do not go to work.

The investigation has been initiated by the information that during the days of the strike, hundreds of workers have taken advantage of due days off or sick leave.

According to the data, on Sunday, 20 January, 1,030 of a total of 1,300 underground workers took a day off or sick leave and only 190 said they were on strike. This actually means that the involvement of staff in the strike amounts to only 14.62%.

The response of the Ministry of Development and Transport was immediate. The Minister has ordered the management of the company that manages the public transport to turn to the judicial authorities to determine whether the majority of workers receive their pay during the days of the strike.