DOCKERS at the Port of Piraeus, Athens's principal harbour, have talking strike action for weeks and lately vowed a 48-hour walkout this week, reports the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
The piraeus Port Dock Containers Workers Union (ENEDEP) said it was demanding the signing of a collective labour agreement with the terminal operators, China's Cosco Shipping.
Apart from a docker was killed on the job, the union said 'hundreds suffer from intensified work and insufficient hygiene and safety measures'.
Meanwhile, the International Maritime Union in Greece, the owners group, appealed to the Shipping and Island Policy Ministry to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the port in the run-up to Christmas.
The owners group said the commercial port has been closed since November 28, 'due to weather conditions and an inability to provide navigation services', while 10 mother ships and 11 feeders await loading and unloading.
All this against a background of Greece's privatisation agency, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) having transferred a 16 per cent stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) to Cosco.
The transfer lifts Cosco's stake in the Athens Stock Exchange-listed PPA to 67 per cent and comes after Greek lawmakers in September amended a deal with Cosco allowing it to raise its stake in Greece's biggest port, paving the way for Greece to secure a major investment.
Under a 2016 privatisation deal, Cosco Shipping bought a 51 per cent stake in the PPA for US$313.6 million and committed to mandatory investments worth $333.3 million over five years to buy an additional 16 per cent stake.
SeaNews Turkey
The piraeus Port Dock Containers Workers Union (ENEDEP) said it was demanding the signing of a collective labour agreement with the terminal operators, China's Cosco Shipping.
Apart from a docker was killed on the job, the union said 'hundreds suffer from intensified work and insufficient hygiene and safety measures'.
Meanwhile, the International Maritime Union in Greece, the owners group, appealed to the Shipping and Island Policy Ministry to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the port in the run-up to Christmas.
The owners group said the commercial port has been closed since November 28, 'due to weather conditions and an inability to provide navigation services', while 10 mother ships and 11 feeders await loading and unloading.
All this against a background of Greece's privatisation agency, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) having transferred a 16 per cent stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) to Cosco.
The transfer lifts Cosco's stake in the Athens Stock Exchange-listed PPA to 67 per cent and comes after Greek lawmakers in September amended a deal with Cosco allowing it to raise its stake in Greece's biggest port, paving the way for Greece to secure a major investment.
Under a 2016 privatisation deal, Cosco Shipping bought a 51 per cent stake in the PPA for US$313.6 million and committed to mandatory investments worth $333.3 million over five years to buy an additional 16 per cent stake.
SeaNews Turkey
