Public services, maritime, rail and urban transport as well as a majority of private companies in Greece were idling on Monday, May 2, due to a twenty-four-hour general strike at the call of private sector unions and of the public to protest against soaring prices. Athenian public transport operated like a Sunday while supermarkets and shops were closed on this holiday Monday, the day after May 1.
In the traditional International Workers’ Day parades on Sunday, around 9,000 protesters took to the streets in Athens, demanding more action from the Greek government to defend purchasing power from the impact of inflation on households .
Electricity that has almost doubled in one year
Inflation in Greece reached 9.4% in April, according to the European statistics office Eurostat, a figure well above the European average, which stands at 7.5%. In March, according to the same source, electricity prices alone were not very far from having doubled – + 79.3% on an annual basis – against a backdrop of soaring energy prices following of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Greek government has granted social aid totaling 4 billion euros to deal with galloping inflation. On May 1, the minimum wage was also increased by 50 euros per month, and now stands at 713 euros gross. But the unions and the left-wing opposition consider these measures insufficient and are demanding in particular that the minimum wage be increased to 825 euros gross per month.