On Monday morning, workers at the Ellinikon construction site staged a strike gathering outside the skyscraper currently under construction, with Valsamos Syrigos, president of the workers’ union, hailing the “universal participation in the strike.”

The union president spoke of the workers’ demands “to put an end to workplace accidents, so that workers can return home safe and sound from their day’s labor,” while making it clear that “the project is unified, and workers demand the application of the Collective Agreement signed by the Federation across all segments of the project, regardless of contractors or subcontractors. A minimum wage must be guaranteed for every worker, regardless of specialty.”

He also highlighted provisions of the Collective Agreement regarding working hours, demanding “an end to their extension, as this is a key condition for protecting workers on the job. They also demand an on-site medical unit so that workers’ health is not put at risk.”
Slogans heard at the strike gathering included: “You count profits and losses, we count human lives,” “Profits soaked in workers’ blood,” and “No work on Saturdays and Sundays, we are workers, not machines.”

A union delegation met with representatives of “LAMDA,” the company in charge of the Hellinikon redevelopment, in order to present the strikers’ demands for health and safety measures. Following the meeting, B. Syrigos addressed the gathered workers. He called for “continued struggle and participation in the next major nationwide general strike on April 9.”

Standing in solidarity with the strikers were delegations from the Athens Builders’ Union, led by its president Panagiotis Gakias, and the Union of Salaried Technicians, led by its president Ilias Tsimpoukakis. Also present was the president of the Greek Federation of Builders, Giannis Tasioulas.