Greeks took part in a nationwide strike on March 8 as thousands took to the streets, protesting over the fatal train crash that claimed the lives of 57 people last week in central Greece.

The strike was declared by the public workers’ union (ADEDY) at a nationwide level, the largest Labor Centers (among them Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, Larissa, Ioannina, etc.), federations, and unions.

The strike is being carried out as a protest against the train tragedy in Tempe, with a request that there be no cover-up of responsibilities, against privatisation, and demanding measures for safety in transportation.

Scuffles with hooded men in Thessaloniki

Riots broke out once again in the center of Thessaloniki, between dozens of hooded men and the police, after the end of the march that took place earlier.

As marchers arrived at the Hellenic Railways Organization S.A (OSE), there were incidents of hooded men breaking away from the crowd and throwing Molotov cocktails and police throwing tear gas.

Patras protests 

In Patras, a rally was held in Georgiou Square, and a march through the main streets.

It was the largest gathering of recent years in Georgiou Square.

However, there were some minor incidents with police officers outside the railway station.

Larissa

Crowds of people participate in the protest rally held in the central square of Larissa, on the occasion of the train accident that occurred in Tempi. After the rally, the citizens started marching toward the OSE.

Holding black balloons and chanting slogans – one of which reads “text me when you arrive, it never arrived” (referring to a relative’s text to one of the dead) – students from various schools in the city, members of trade unions, university students and the general public are calling for accountability for the tragedy, exemplary punishment of those responsible, but also the immediate taking of the necessary measures for the safety of citizens in transportation.

Over 2,000 people flooded the center of Lamia

A particularly large protest rally was organised by the student associations in Lamia and over 2,000 people flooded the center of the city. “The tears dried up and became the rage, the new generation does not forgive you” was the central slogan, while at the same time banners and slogans demanded that there be no covering up of responsibility for the human lives that were unjustly lost.

It is the 3rd mobilisation in the last few days in the city of Lamia and among the most massive in the last 20 years, a fact that shows that the tragedy at Tempi has touched all of them, the high school and university students of the area and together with the social organisations held and participated in these protests.

Today at 12 noon, students, pupils, teachers, workers, railway workers, and pensioners, as well as workers’ organisations and the two Labour Centers, marched in Lamia’s Park Square.

Initially, it was defined as a protest gathering in the context of today’s strike, but very quickly it turned into a protest about the train tragedy, with the slogans related to this particular tragedy becoming dominant.

The gathered then organized a particularly long march that similarly dates back to the 90s, after walking in the central streets, they passed through almost all the squares of Lamia, demonstrating, vowing to continue their mobilizations until measures are taken.