Greece

Greece: More Strikes Make Life Miserable for Greeks, Travelers

Date: July 28th, 2010 |

More strikes disrupted life and travel across Greece when both air traffic controllers and truckers walked off the job, delaying hundreds of flights and creating gasoline shortages around the country. Air traffic controllers returned to work July 27 and withdrew plans to strike July 31 to give the government time to address their concerns. Truckers [read more]

Greece: Tourism Workers to Strike

Date: June 16th, 2010 |

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After a series of strikes by various unions over the past several weeks, including riots in Athens that depressed tourist numbers, now the country’s major union representing tourism workers plans to strike for four hours June 16 and 24 hours June 30. Union members include hotel and restaurant workers so the likelihood of major disruption [read more]

Europe: Economic Crunch Prompts Strikes Across Continent

Date: February 24th, 2010 |

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Strikes hit both the public and private sectors of several countries as the financial crisis put increasing pressure on workers and businesses, and some walkouts will carry on into March. Lufthansa pilots struck, French air traffic controllers walked out for four days, Greek unions blockaded the Athens stock market, and prepared to shut down much [read more]

Greece: Farmers to Block Roads, Border Crossings

Date: January 13th, 2010 |

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Farmers around the country plan to block roads beginning Jan. 20 to protest low produce prices and higher production costs. Last year at this time they paralyzed commerce and disrupted travel when they closed major highways and several border crossings. This year they again hope to raise awareness of their difficulties and obtain more subsidies [read more]

Greece: Binge-Drinking by British Tourists Still Plagues Islands

Date: June 17th, 2009 |

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Unruly behavior by British tourists and others in island beach resorts has started off the summer season in just the way local authorities and residents had hoped to avoid. Binge drinking led to the rape of a British woman by fellow Britons in Mallia on Crete, and a Dutch woman was attacked by two Greeks [read more]

Greece: 24-Hour Strikes Continue to Disrupt Travel and Transport

Date: June 30th, 2010 |

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More strikes against austerity measures paralyzed Greece June 29, raising the question of whether the almost-weekly 24-hour shutdowns will continue throughout the summer and blow a hole in the country’s tourism industry. Tourism brings in 20 percent of Greece’s national income and the strikes have shut down the port at Piraeus, essentially stopping ferry service [read more]

Greece: Strikes Paralyze Athens Transport, More to Come May 5

Date: April 28th, 2010 |

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Transport workers walked off the job and stopped Athens’ buses, trams and metro for six hours April 27 to protest austerity measures imposed to try to pull Greece out of its financial crisis. Labor unions that represent half the country’s workforce called for a national strike May 5 saying the deficit-cutting policies hurt only the [read more]

Greece: Strikes Greet EU Economic Pressure, More to Come

Date: February 17th, 2010 |

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A financial crisis prompted the EU to pressure the government to impose austerity measures, triggering strikes across the country, first with civil servants shutting down schools and grounding flights, then customs officials walking out for three days to disrupt imports and exports and possibly cause fuel shortages. A broader strike is scheduled for Feb. 24 [read more]

Greece: Wildfires Near Athens Raised Concerns about Fire Danger Throughout the Country

Date: August 27th, 2009 |

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Wildfires burned out of control in the forests of Athens’ northern suburbs for four days before firefighters contained them. The fires were the most destructive in decades in the Attica region and the worst in Greece since the devastating fires of 2007. The threat to Athens has diminished but fire danger is high throughout the [read more]

Greece: Poll Shows Crime Is Much Worse This Year

Date: March 25th, 2009 |

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Following several incidents of rioting and anarchist bombings, a poll conducted for Athens’ Kathimerini newspaper shows that 72 percent of Greeks feel crime in the country has become much worse in the past year while only 9 percent feel there has been no change. Sixty percent have little or no faith in the government’s ability [read more]