Strike called in Greece to protest deadly train crash

ATHENS (Reuters) – Flights to and from Greece will be grounded on Thursday, while boats will remain docked at ports, as part of a strike called by major unions to protest last month’s deadliest train crash in the country’s history. .

It is expected that the 24-hour strike, initiated by the main unions in the private and public sectors, will lead to the closure of public schools and affect public services and transport.

The strike is the latest act of a protest movement after a head-on collision between two trains in the center of the country on February 28 killed 57 people, mostly students.

A demonstration is planned in front of parliament from 09:00 GMT. Protesters accused the Conservative government and political class of ignoring repeated warnings from unions about safety flaws in the country’s rail network.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the capital Athens and other cities last week to show their anger, in what was the biggest protest against the government since it took office in 2019.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose term ends next July and who is expected to announce elections in the spring, apologized for the accident while promising to boost the workforce in the rail sector and modernize lines.

(Reporting by Renée Maltezou; French edition by Jean Terzien)