Minister tables modifications to draft law on transport

Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Dimitris Reppas on Monday tabled modifications to a draft law for public transport reforms in Attica, including measures restricting staff transfers.

The new measures provide free transport for the disabled and exclude engine drivers from planned staff transfers, while they also reduce the number of total staff transfers by 40 in the electric railway ISAP and by 10 in the Athens public transport organisation OASA.

It also transfers all social insurance debts owed by the public transport companies that are to be merged to the state budget and reduces the fee for registering the deeds from the sale of public transport organisation real estate to 1 percent instead of 5 percent.

24-hour public transport strike in Athens on Tuesday

All public transport means in Athens will come to a halt on Tuesday due to a 24-hour strike announced by urban transport employees on the occasion of the ratification in Parliament on Tuesday of a government bill on transports.

Downtown Athens is also expected to be inaccessible for many hours on Tuesday, since the employees will be holding a protest rally outside Parliament as of noon, resulting in surrounding streets being closed.

On Monday urban transport employes carried out another mechanised rally and, in statements, trade unionists once again expressed their total opposition to the bill.