Mass media unions declare 24-hour strike on Wednesday

Press and media trade unions have declared a 24-hour strike affecting all public and private mass media, the general secretariat for news and information and the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) from 6:00 on Wednesday, October 2 until 6:00 on Thursday.

The only staff excepted during Wednesday's strike will be those covering the October 2 strike action proposed by the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE), which a number of trade union organisations have said they will join.

"Workers in media are uniting [their] voices with all workers throughout the country that are striking on the same day, after nationwide strikes were announced by the labour centres and the federations in GSEE.

"We say 'no' to the development bill that strikes at the heart of individual and labour rights," the boards of the various mass media unions said in a joint announcement.

The unions object to legislation on labour and trade union law inserted into the omnibus development bill that the government has tabled in parliament, especially provisions that undermine free collective labour bargaining. They accuse the government of promoting "a type of 'growth' that is anything but beneficial for society and the workers," and allows employers to control unions and flout collective labour agreements.