Greeks strike to mark train crash anniversary and demand justice

28/2/2024 19:26

        Rail services in Greece ground to a halt and ships were held up in ports near Athens on Wednesday as rail workers walked off the job to mark the anniversary of the country's deadliest train crash - and demand justice and bigger pay rises.
        
        On Feb. 28 2023, a passenger train from the capital to the northern city of Thessaloniki collided head-on with a freight train, killing 57 people and stirring mass protests over what many viewed as the result of decades of neglect of the rail sector.
        
        On Wednesday, churches across the country rang their bells 57 times to represent the number of those killed, many of them young students returning home after a long weekend.
        
        Protesters, ranging from rail and hospital workers to seafarers and school teachers, joined the 24-hour walkout by Greece's largest public sector union ADEDY, which represents about half a million workers.
        
        Many of them, including students, started rallying at meetings points in central Athens as they geared for a march to parliament.