Just a little over a month after the massive nationwide strike on February 28 — the largest the country has seen in the past 50 years — trade unions are ready for a new 24-hour nationwide strike, set to take place on Wednesday, April 9.
© PamehellasSyntagma Square in Athens, the capital's main square, during the strike rally on February 28. Credit: Pamehellas
The trigger for the upcoming strike is the recent announcement by the Greek government regarding the new minimum wage. According to the government's decision, the minimum wage will increase by 50 euros, reaching 880 euros gross, which translates to a daily wage increase of just 1,36 euros for workers.
© PamehellasSyntagma Square in Athens, the capital's main square, during the strike rally on February 28. Credit: Pamehellas
Unions have rejected this raise, characterizing it as "crumbs," and are also protesting the fact that the minimum wage continues to be set unilaterally by the government. They are calling for the re-establishment of free collective bargaining between workers' and employers' unions, with the aim of implementing sectoral Collective Labor Agreements that include meaningful salary increases and improved working conditions.
© PamehellasSyntagma Square in Athens, the capital's main square, during the strike rally on February 28. Credit: Pamehellas
With the central slogan "We will not be silenced for one euro a day," the unions argue that in 2025, the average real wage remains 9% lower than it was in 2011, while when adjusted for inflation, the loss in purchasing power reaches 27%. Furthermore, they highlight a worrying trend in which the average wage is converging with the minimum wage, with nearly one in two workers (46.5%) earning a gross monthly salary of up to 1,000 euros.
In the food industry -which includes fruit and vegetable companies- trade union figures show that the average gross salary declined by 10.5% between 2011 and 2024, now standing at 1.253,74 euros.
© PamehellasSyntagma Square in Athens, the capital's main square, during the strike rally on February 28. Credit: Pamehellas
The strike is expected to significantly disrupt fruit and vegetable production across the country, as the Panhellenic Federation of Workers in Food, Dairy, and Beverages has already confirmed its participation, joining several other unions. Product transport is also expected to come to an almost complete standstill. Following strike decisions by the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation and Railway Workers Union, ships and trains will be immobilized nationwide on Wednesday. Additionally, workers at the container terminals of Greece's largest port, Piraeus, have also declared their participation, further intensifying the anticipated impact of the strike on both domestic logistics and international trade.