Greece-wide Strikes Scheduled for February 18, 19

Nationwide strikes are scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, and Wednesday, February 19. Specifically, Greece largest trade union representing public sector employees (ADEDY) will hold a 24-hour strike on February 18 for workers in special programs in the health sector, while on February 19, taxi drivers will stage a 24-hour strike.

ADEDY’s Strike on February 18
ADEDY has declared a 24-hour strike on February 18 in support of workers in special healthcare programs.  According to ADEDY’s announcement, the workers have the following demands:

Equal treatment and rectification of wage injustices affecting these workers for the past eight years compared to other contract employees in the healthcare sector.
Full staffing of public health institutions with permanent personnel.
The conversion of fixed-term contracts under various programs into permanent contracts.
Public health service employees have been striking regularly over the past year for various issues related to the country’s public health system. One key point of contention is the Greek Ministry of Health’s increasing outsourcing of public health services to private companies. Meanwhile, the issue cited in ADEDY’s announcement -the practice of hiring employees through fixed-term contracts that are renewed -allows the government to keep health costs low but prevents workers from attaining the rights