Today, its president held a meeting with railway unions SYRIZA-PS, Alexis Tsiprasto discuss with them the circumstances of the accident on Tempehear about the problems and weaknesses that exist that led to the tragedy, as well as the necessary actions that need to be taken to ensure safety on the railways.

Mr Tsipras said that “this tragedy should not have happened and there is no excuse for it” because, according to him, “for the past two years you have been persistently warning either through your strike mobilizations or extrajudicial letters you have sent to the political leadership “.

At the same time, he left sharp points for the government’s attitude, citing Mr. Karamanlis’ remarks in parliament that “it’s a shame for those who talk about security issues,” such as the fact that workers’ strike responses were appeals to court to declare the strikes illegal.

He then noted that “tragedy is not a matter of party opposition, it is a matter of collective opposition of the whole society against those who try to hide the truth”, adding that “denial of responsibility, dissipation of responsibility, set-offs are an attempt at concealment.” “Everything Greek society demands truth and justice,” he stressed and commented on the government’s claims, stating that “one responsibility is individual, exclusively of the station master, the other is collective, all together, so no one in particular.”

“It is a pendulum of non-responsibility, from the individual to the collective. What we heard yesterday about “we are all to blame” reminds me that “we all ate it together,” he added.

“Let’s do everything in the name of truth and justice, because Greek society demands responsibility,” said the President of SYRIZA-PS, adding: “Not to take revenge on anyone, but to find out how and why. Not only to see what happened on that fateful night, but also to see what we will do in the future to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, to ensure safety in a vehicle that should be – and in Europe it is – the safest vehicle. “.

President of Engine Drivers: We reported a shortage, we sent it out of court

“As a train drivers union, we will not agree that this was a human error. This is understandable,” Kostas Genidunias, president of the Union of Machinists, stressed. As he mentioned, the European Federation of Machinists was also drawn up with this position, taking the necessary steps at the European level to ensure that “primary responsibility is not transferred.”

“During this period, we intensified our work, we declared shortcomings, sent out-of-court reports. Unfortunately, the size of the complaints was probably underestimated,” Mr. Genidunias noted, also telling Mr. Tsipras – on behalf of the trade unions – that they were “denigrated” and accused of “lying” or serving “ goals.”

Regarding the opening of the railways, he emphasized that the workers are also in this direction, however, they will go up as soon as they have “offers that will provide absolute security”, with a “clear timetable”, which, as he indicated, won – did not work out on yesterday’s meeting with the ministry.

The president of the Panhellenic Federation of Railways and Rail Vehicles (POS-MST), Ioannis Ditzas, referred to the unions’ longstanding complaints and highlighted how they tried to draw attention to the issues “out of court or through announcements”. , press releases, or through strike action” and that the word “safety” was in all of the railroad’s claims.

Source: APE/MEB