Sailοr strike extended for third day

The decision was taken today after a meeting between Federation officials and members of the Passenger Shipowners Union to talk about the signing of a collective labor contract. There will be a new Federation meeting on Wednesday, to decide their stance ahead of a fresh meeting with the owners in the afternoon.

Federation sources mentioned today's talk with the shipowners was in the right direction. The Federation has expressed its opposition to business contracts, which are a replacement of the collective labor agreement and allows employers to offer wages arbitrarily. It also opposes a multi-bill provision concerning the deployment of a “security ship” during Federation strikes.

Maritime minister Miltiades Varvitsiotis called on the Federation to table its proposal on the “security ship” issue, stressing that the provision will not be withdrawn, though, because it is a standard demand from islanders for reasons of social cohesion. Sifis Anastasakis, the mayor of Ierapetra in the island of Crete, sent a letter to the minister, mentioning that “a prolonged strike would create a huge crisis which would be a disaster for farmers in remote islands”.