Athens was brought to a halt by a series of strikes by transport workers earlier this year as police stormed a metro train depot to break up a sit in.
The workers were protesting against a planned 25 per cent pay cut. The government has threatened to use emergency civil mobilisation laws to arrest them if they refuse to return to work – which could lead to prison sentences of up to five years. Several days of action crippled the Greek capital’s underground system. ■