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A group of archaeologists, guards and office worker boycotted the Acropolis insisting that their employment contracts should be extended. The Archaeological Park of the Parthenon woke up closed to tourists and visitors while protesters lined up inside the fence not letting anyone in. Outside the fence, however, were the riot police. After short hesitation, they put an end to the boycott using force and tear gas.

Journalists, police officers and ordinary visitors dispersed ramblingly to escape the gas clouds while curious and unaware tourists continued to flock to enjoy the world archaeological heritage of Greece. The third action of the boycotted Acropolis saga – the arrests of some of the strikers – took place within the scope of television cameras of local and foreign media. Disobedient employees of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism were taken out from the park to the armored police cars in handcuffs.
 
A group of curious tourists witnessed all of this, shooting every action of the scenes at the Acropolis. Having the idea to see the grandeur of the ancient Hellenic civilization initially, they become witnesses of the modern Greek reality in real time.

30 people out of 800 workers at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of fixed-term contracts entered into the Acropolis archaeological park still on Wednesday evening with the aim of boycotting. They changed the lock of the main entrance in the night and so the number one tourist attraction in Greece proved to be closed for all in the morning. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism ordered the archaeological park to be ‘cleared’ and a peaceful solution of the problem to be found. The riot police were sent.

The reason for the protest of some of the employees of the Ministry of Culture is the expiration of many of the fixed-term contracts at the end of this month. When most of them were appointed, however, they were promised that would be permanently appointed in the public administration after working on a fixed-term contract for two years. The introduction of the new law on appointments in the public sector, known as the Raguosis law (after the current Minister of Interior and Public Administration Giannis Ragousis) changed the rules. Employees in public administration are allowed to be appointed only after they have passed the tests of the Supreme Council for Personnel Selection (ASEP). The right of employees on fixed-term contract to be appointed after having held the same position for more than two years is abolished.

In addition to the new rules imposed by the Ragousis law, the government announced that the appointments in the next three years will be made on the base of the one to five rule. In other words, for every five retired, redundant or exempt employees will be appointed only one new employee, who has already been approved by the Supreme Council for Personnel Selection.