The ferry boats all over Greece are to set sail again today Saturday, after a nine day strike by the National Seamens Federation. The outcome for the seamen, as a result of their strike action, according to their own union body representative? Zero.
The fall out as a result of such a long, ongoing dispute? Serious inconvenience in general for anyone needing to travel by boat, but in particular, for certain sectors of the population of Crete who use the boats for commercial purposes, major difficulties.
Violent clashes broke out in the Port of Heraklion yesterday evening, when a boat which had been planned as an emergency measure and had been due to leave, was eventually refused permission to sail. With tons of fresh and perishable produce beginning to rot in the trucks waiting to leave and also in greenhouses and packaging stations alike, the producers of Crete have yet again economically, been the ones paying the heaviest price of the strike action.
In response to the delay in the departure of the boat, farmers and producers began the destruction of the ANEK ticket office in the harbour, which they also went on to set on fire.
After it’s total destruction, the fire service was allowed access to put out the flames.
The first light of day today, made apparent the devastation in and around the harbour and following a new meeting and vote by NSF, the end of the strike was finally announced.
The boat carrying the containers left early this morning and two more ferries will leave tonight on their normal timetable programme. Meanwhile, the authorities are investigating in order to identify the perpetrators of the arson attack.