Striking refuse workers in Greece have staged further protests in a bitter dispute over jobs and short-term contracts.
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The near two week walkout has led to rubbish piling up on the streets of Athens and other cities as baking summer temperatures soar.
Announcing no deal had been reached, union leader Nikos Trakas, the president of the Municipalities Workers Federation, said: ‘‘We call on all the country this Thursday to come to Karaiskakis Square where we will ask to meet the Prime Minister, since the Interior Minister is incapable of solving this big problem which he has created.’‘
Unions have blamed Greece’s interior minister Panos Skourletis for the on-going deadlock. He has insisted the dispute will soon be resolved.
‘‘The sanitation sector should finally get sorted. There should be permanent jobs in this sector, jobs that will answer the actual needs of local government. We will define the number of posts by working together with the municipalities,’‘ Skourletis said.
Residents in Athens have been urged not to take their rubbish out due to fears the mounting waste could lead to a public health crisis.