Union of Container Handling Workers: Strike in the Port of Piraeus

The Union of Container Handling Workers (ENEDEP) calls on the workers in the port of Piraeus to go on strike on February 7.

“The plenary General Assembly held on Thursday, January 27 was a decisive step in escalating to meet our just demands and decided to escalate our struggle with a 24-hour warning strike on Monday, February 7,” the Union of Container Handling Workers said in a statement at the piers of Piraeus.

In the announcement, the Union, also points out that “negotiations with the employer for the signing of a collective agreement that will ensure structured and full employment rights as well as fair wages for all employees – of all specialties at the container terminal, continue.

However, at the same time, under the responsibility of the government and COSCO, the conclusion of the assessment committee for the collective bargaining agreement is not applied, which provides that all the employees at Pier II and III in the port of Piraeus are included in the collective agreement according to the conditions provided and must be implemented by the 1/1/2012 ».

Also, at the same time “the employer under the responsibility of DPORT and COSCO have not renewed fixed-term contracts with dozens of colleagues under the pretext of the pandemic and at the same time are making new recruitments of colleagues with fixed-term contracts”.

Finally, the Union underlines that “we have clearly stated to everyone involved, both to COSCO, which is our real employer – and to the intermediary companies that it uses to avoid its responsibilities, but also to the government that pretends to be Pontius Pilate, that:

-The regime of exploiting our work will not continue,

-The regime of violation of our labor rights will not continue,

“The regime of indifference to the needs of employees at the container terminal will not continue.”