Athens — Day-long nationwide strikes began in Greece on Thursday, with transport workers joining the swell of public anger at blunders and systemic issues that led to the recent train disaster in which 57 people lost their lives.
For the first time, all domestic and international flights were also affected, with air traffic controllers and civil aviation employees supporting the industrial action.
The ongoing investigation into the head-on collision of a passenger train with a goods train on March 1 brought to light huge grievances within the country's railway network.
The stationmaster who sent the passenger train onto the wrong tracks was found to be overwhelmed at his post. In addition, modern technical safety systems had been functioning only partially or not at all for years.
All governments of the past 20 years have completely failed in the running of the railways, is the unanimous opinion that emerged in the country in recent days.
In addition to air traffic, Greek public transport and ferry services are supporting the strike action, along with public service and health sector workers.
There are only a few exceptions, such as an emergency service in hospitals and humanitarian flights. In public transport, buses and trains will only run at lunchtime to take people to protests in the major cities.
Greek media also staged a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, meaning that no print publications would be available on Thursday. Online news media also joined the action. All other trade unions in the country are also demanding that those responsible for the train accident be held accountable.
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