Greek civil aviation workers to strike over airport concessions

Thessaloniki Port Authority SA

14/06/2016 11:51

By Angeliki Koutantou 
    ATHENS, June 14 (Reuters) - Greek civil aviation workers 
plan a five-day strike next week in protest at the long-term 
lease of 14 regional airports, complicating government efforts 
to implement a privatisation programme linked to the country's 
bailout. 
    Authorities agreed to lease the airports to German operator 
Fraport  FRAG.DE  last year and are now considering offering 
concessions for 23 others. 
    The walkout, called by civil aviation workers union OSYPA 
from June 20 to June 25, is expected to disrupt domestic and 
international flights as airports will operate with emergency 
staff only. 
    Privatisations have been a key element of the three 
international bailouts Greece has received since 2010, but they 
have reaped very limited revenues due to political resistance, 
bureaucracy and opposition by unions.  
    Port workers have been on 48-hour rolling strikes since late 
May to protest the sale of Greece's two largest ports in Piraeus 
 OLPr.AT  and in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki 
 OLTr.AT . 
    Workers at state railways operator TRAINOSE have also been 
staging stoppages against its privatisation, and are expected to 
hold a 24-hour strike on June 22, when final bids from investors 
are due. 
    Under a third international bailout the left-led government 
signed up to a year ago, Athens has promised to conclude a 
series of pending deals and set up a new umbrella privatisation 
fund by September which will include additional state assets. 
    The 1.2-billion-euro ($1.35 billion) deal with Fraport and 
its Greek partner, energy group Copelouzos, covers the operation 
of 14 provincial airports in popular tourist islands including 
Corfu and Santorini. 
    The German firm is expected to start operating those 
airports by the end of this year, once it gets pending approvals 
and technical issues are ironed out.  ID:nL5N17745G     
    Privatisation agency HRADF published an invitation on Monday 
to hire an advisor to work out whether another 23 regional 
airports can be further developed. 
    OSYPA is concerned that such a move would result in job 
losses, further hurting an already struggling economy. 
    "The privatisation agency proceeds with the sell-off of the 
remaining...regional airports aiming, as its charter stipulates, 
to shut the ones that will not be sold," the union, which 
represents about 1,200 workers, said in a statement.  
    "We really wonder whether politicians and local communities 
have realised what the closure(s) ...will mean." 
    HRADF said the invitation is just part of a preparation 
process before the 23 airports are transferred to the new fund 
in September. 
    ($1 = 0.8916 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by John Stonestreet) 
 ((angeliki.koutantou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376436; 
Reuters Messaging: angeliki.koutantou.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: EUROZONE GREECE/PRIVATISATION STRIKE