The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views
The Malaysian Insider :: Breaking Views |
| Greek subway workers end strike after arrest threat Posted: 25 Jan 2013 07:58 AM PST  Passengers wait to board on a train at Syntagma metro station after the end of a nine-day strike in Athens January 25, 2013. — Reuters pic The showdown had turned into the latest test for Greece's fragile three-party ruling coalition as it faces down unions to try to implement austerity measures demanded by foreign lenders as the price for bailout funds. Traffic slowly resumed on Athens' subway lines today afternoon after workers protesting wage cuts were served orders to return to work or face jail, the first time the government has invoked such legislation since it took power in June. "The workers who were handed the notice didn't have a choice. We are exploring legal options," said Manthos Tsakos, general secretary of the main subway workers' union. Earlier today, police forced their way through a metal gate at a train depot in Athens to break up an overnight sit-in by 90 transport workers against wage cuts. Scuffles broke out and at least three people were detained before being released. The radical leftist opposition Syriza party, which is leading in some opinion polls, said the police intervention was a "barbaric" attack on workers' rights. Eager to show lenders and Greeks that it is determined to implement promised reforms, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has taken a hard line on the strikers despite facing criticism from one of his own coalition partners. "Under no circumstances can the government allow the country to be derailed and to let the sacrifices of the Greek people go to waste," Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, who oversees transport issues, said in a televised statement. Other transport unions held strikes in solidarity with subway workers today, leaving Athens without bus, tram, trolleybus or rail services, and causing gridlock across the city. Traffic ground to a halt in the capital, fuelling public anger against the strike which affected more than a million commuters in a city of 5 million people. "HARD TO HAVE SYMPATHY" "This week has been hell. How can they expect people to be on their side when they do this to us? We're all suffering (from austerity) but it's very difficult to have any sympathy for them," said 50-year-old Dionisis Kefalas. Other commuters, worn down by years of frequent strikes and exasperated by the long wait for a taxi to work, agreed. "Ordinary people are being inconvenienced — as if our problems weren't bad enough," said Daphne Kiritsi, 46, an office clerk, who said she had paid 200 euros (RM820) out of her 800-euro monthly salary for taxis this week. Subway employees oppose being included in a unified wage scheme for public sector workers drawn up under an austerity programme that would slash their salaries. Under the emergency law invoked, which is meant to be used in times of war, natural disaster or risks to public health, workers can be arrested and jailed for up to five years. Subway, shipyard and other public sector workers planned to march today to parliament in Syntagma Square, the scene of often violent protests in recent years. The most powerful unions threw their support behind the subway workers. "The workers' struggle will continue until justice is had," said Nikos Kioutsoukis, general secretary of the GSEE private sector union, which has called a 24-hour strike against austerity measures next month. — Reuters |
| Turkey launches tender to build world’s biggest airport Posted: 25 Jan 2013 07:54 AM PST  A seagull, with the Suleymaniye mosque in the background, stands in the snow by the Golden Horn in Istanbul January 9, 2013. — Reuters pic "As of today, interested firms can start doing their math on the project and decide if they want to apply on May 3 when the tender closes," he told AFP on condition of anonymity as the project documents became available. The project foresees the construction of a six-runway airport eventually capable of handling 150 million passengers per year, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters on Wednesday. That would far outpace Hartsfield-Jackson airport in the US city of Atlanta, which is currently the world's busiest with over 90 million passengers likely to have been served in 2012. Plans are to have operating by 2016 facilities capable of handling some 100 million passengers per year at an expected cost of over €7 billion. Turkish media reported that a number of local and foreign companies including Turkish TAV Airports, partnered with French airport operator Aeroports de Paris, and Dutch airport operator Schiphol Group were interested in bidding to build and operate the airport for 25 years. The project is part of plans to make Istanbul a global hub initiated by the Islamic-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It follows Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines reaching capacity at Istanbul's Ataturk International airport, which handled 45 million passengers last year. Istanbul's second airport, Sabiha Gokcen International, registered 15 million passengers in 2012. Turkish authorities say their combined capacity still falls short of meeting increased demand, especially for a hub of traffic between Asia and Europe. — AFP/Relaxnews |
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