(ANSA-AP) - ATHENS, 03 JUL - A 24-hour strike by seamen has
left Greek ferries and other passenger boats tied up in port,
stranding tourists and Greeks heading for vacation and leaving
many islands cut off for the day.
The PNO seamen's union called Wednesday's strike to demand
salary increases as part of collective wage agreements. Dozens
of inhabited Greek islands don't have airports and are
accessible only by sea.
The passenger shipping business association SEEN, with which
the seamen's union had been negotiating, had expressed surprise
when the strike was announced in late June, saying it offered a
2% wage increase for 2019 on top of a retroactive 2% increase
for 2018. It said the offer, along with staff increases, was
"beyond our actual capabilities during a particularly difficult
time" with 50% fuel cost increases. (ANSA-AP).
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