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Railway workers unions required the government to hear their proposals for reform of the losing billions of euros state rail company. They are determined to continue their protests against the government bill as "the measures will not lead to railways rescue but their only goal is to privatize them and to eliminate the collective labour contract.”

"We are part of the society, part of the working people and we receive low wages. We will not allow anyone to judge the railway company using economic criteria, having in mind the policy that was implemented and the political decisions taken to manage it," said Thanassis Leventis – secretary of the railway workers union.
 
Mr. Levendis made a statement for grreporter.info and explained the union proposals for the railways upgrading and the labour rights preservation of employees. "Concerning the railways, two thirds of them will be closed according to the draft. We insist on streamline services – cancellation of grant contracts for the carriage of goods that offered reductions of 90 percent. Moreover, the state should pay all its debts in compliance with the price policy, which it implements. It itself does not pay the differences which leads to indebtedness of the state rail company.

Moreover, the state must assume its responsibilities for the implementation of the infrastructure projects, since in recent years the railways were forced to get loans from banks with state guarantee to implement these projects. This has never happened neither for the construction of roads nor for airports.

In relation to labour relations, we do not want collective contracts to be abolished; we do not want more cuts in wages and, of course, we do not want our colleagues to be transferred. It is not possible colleagues who have worked in the railways for 30-35 years to be thrown out of the railways two years before retirement.

We are the people that took the railway company 30 years ago when the trains used coal to move, then made them use diesel, and now we are seeing the development of electric trains. Now that the railways are changing, they discard us. This is the thing we will protest against.”