Culture, Health, Greece

The POEDHN health workers’ union, supported by the ADEDY public sector trade union confederation, organised a national demonstration on 22 February with calls for urgent action on health service funding. The union is demanding increased staffing and measures to address the widespread use of precarious contracts across the health service. It is also continuing to campaign for better pay and conditions with many health workers facing low pay, often little more than the minimum wage. This is a long-term legacy of austerity with pay cuts imposed in 2009 and pay frozen since 2015.

The ADEDY civil service trade union confederation has called a national strike on 6 April over pay, jobs and public sector funding. It argues that with inflation at a 25-year high of 7% public sector salaries need to be increased immediately. There has been no increase since 2009 when salaries for many public sector workers were cut by 40%. ADEDY is also calling for reinstatement of 13th and 14th month salary payments and an increase in, and extension to the special allowance for arduous and dangerous work. The confederation’s other demands include urgent action to recruit permanent staff to

The ADEDY civil service federation and its member organisations representing health workers have called a day of action on health and half-day work stoppage for 26 January. The main demands are for an increase in funding for the health service, an increase in recruitment of permanent staff and transfer of existing staff on temporary contracts to permanent status. The confederation also wants action to tackle the COVID pandemic and calls for deaths of health workers from COVID to be recognised as an accident at work.

EPSU joined with the ADEDY civil service trade union confederation in sending solidarity messages to trade unions representing health and social security workers taking action to defend jobs and services. The POEDHN health union organised demonstrations on 7 April and plans work stoppages for 22 April to promote a wide range of demands. The union wants COVID-19 to be recognized as an occupational disease and is calling for better pay for health and social care workers as an essential measure to tackle staff shortages. Meanwhile, the POSE-IKA and POPOKP trade unions organised a 48-hour warning

The ADEDY public sector confederation called for a three-hour work stoppage on 16 June in support of action organised by the POEDIN and OENGE health unions. There was main demand for higher public spending on health with specific calls to address the 40000 vacancies in the sector, for permanent status for the 16000 workers on temporary contracts who have often been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, for higher pay - salaries start at only EUR 650 a month - and improvements in a range of allowances related to risk of infection, night work and holiday pay.

The POEDIN health workers' union organised a national strike and demonstration on 16 May in protest at the austerity still being suffered by the public health service. The union argues that massive underfunding and staff shortages are making it impossible to deliver services and many people are forced to use the expensive private sector as waiting lists rise. There is a recruitment crisis in the sector with no new workers taken on over the last three years while 3000 have retired. Overall staffing is 6000 below its 2014 level while workers face poverty wages. A university trained nurse has a

ADEDY, the public services confederation, has called a 24-hour strike for 14 November. It is calling on the government to negotiate over a gradual process of pay restoration. ADEDY says that civil servants have already seen pay cut by 40% and now tax rises and reductions in tax allowances will further reduce take home pay. It is calling for immediate pay rises and the restoration of the 13th and 14th month salaries as initial steps in this process. The strike demands also cover the urgent need to recruit additional permanent staff, for measures on skills and training rather than a new

The ADEDY public service confederation and health workers' union managed to secure a meeting with the Minister of Finance earlier this month and a commitment to further meetings. However, on one of the main issues of the meeting - extending the allowance for dangerous work to all sectors - the Minister didn't agree and suggested that some workers might see cuts in order to make the allowance available to others. In response to calls to increase the number of permanent staff and reduce flexible contracts the Minister acknowledged the problem of underfunding, particular in healthcare, and

The GSEE private sector and ADEDY public sector trade union confederations organised national strike action on 30 May in protest at the continuing austerity measures being imposed on workers and citizens, with the prospect of further pensions cuts on the way while public service workers continue to try deliver services despite massive staff shortages.

The ADEDY public sector confederation will be joining with the GSEE private sector confederation and other trade union and professional organisations in a 24-hour general strike on 30 May in protest at the continuing austerity being imposed on workers and citizens. ADEDY says that public sector workers are still suffering from pay cuts of up to 40% while more precarious working conditions have spread across the public services and there are critical staff shortages in important areas of health and social services.

A 24-hour strike called by the ADEDY and GSEE confederations on 14 December had widespread impact on public services across the country. The confederations were protesting at further austerity measures with plans for cuts in pensions and take-home pay as well as threats to the right to strike. EPSU sent a solidarity message.