Journalists across Greece strike for 24 hours

By Derya Gulnaz Ozcan

ATHENS (AA) – Journalists across Greece staged a 24-hour strike Tuesday, halting news flows in a push for better working conditions and collective labor agreements.

The action, called by several journalist associations, suspended news bulletins on television and radio and froze online updates. Newspapers will not be published on Wednesday due to the walkout.

“We call on the employers' associations to abandon intransigence and to cooperate to finally regulate, after 15 whole years, the disstructured working landscape in the media that holds journalists and the freedom of the press hostage,” the associations said in a joint statement.

The journalist unions are demanding a new collective bargaining agreement, with a minimum starting salary of €1,250 ($1,370), 10% wage hikes, pay for weekend shifts, and higher daily allowances for assignments in conflict zones or natural disaster areas.

The strike began early Tuesday and will last 24 hours.

Greece is also bracing for a nationwide general strike, planned for Wednesday, involving workers from both the public and private sectors.