Greek customs strike during peak season: 40-minute waits at crossings, potential for further issues

A strike by Greek customs officials is causing significant disruptions at border crossings with North Macedonia, including Evzoni, Dojrani, and Niki, during the height of the tourist season. The action has led to substantial delays for travelers attempting to enter or exit Greece.

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It's standard, about 40 minutes of waiting, but if you consider that it's peak season, it's not too much.

According to information from Greek authorities, passenger vehicles are being processed at a rate of one every 10 minutes between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. local time (6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Greek time). Freight traffic, however, faces a complete suspension for both entry and exit from Greece, exacerbating logistical challenges.

Dragan Antonovski, a journalist from North Macedonia, reported that the situation at the Evzoni border crossing, while showing some congestion, was not excessively crowded, with waiting times around 40 minutes. He noted that this wait time is "not too much" considering it is peak season. The strike appears to be largely unreported by Greek media, according to Antonovski.

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They are asking for overtime pay, holiday pay, weekend work, shift work. Moreover, they are asking for what they had before the crisis, the payment of the 13th and 14th salaries.

The core of the dispute lies in classic union demands for salary supplements. Greek customs services have been in negotiations for increased pay, seeking compensation for overtime, holiday work, and weekend shifts. Furthermore, they are demanding the reinstatement of the 13th and 14th salaries, which were previously provided before the economic crisis. Antonovski suggested that the strike might be a warning action, drawing parallels to past farmer protests where demands were only addressed after blocking major highways.

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They don't cover this situation at all, even though it's a regional story, as all land border crossings are blocked. Probably, this will be just a warning strike, and it will be something similar to when farmers went on strike with tractors, whose demands were not taken into account at all until they blocked the highway to Athens.