Protests against privatisation of water escalating

Once again, there was a strike and protest outside the offices of DIADEYADK today, whilst the draft law for the privatisation of water is being debated in Parliament. The Corfu Workers' Centre and the local Laiki Sispirosi party, which has submitted a resolution, are supporting the workers and will participate in tonight's session of the Municipal Council.

The workers are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Ministry of Energy's draft law, stressing that the water supply and sanitation sector in Greece is CANNOT be privatised as it is not allowed to be privatised under the Constitution. "There is no need to create an independent regulatory authority for water because there is no competitive framework, in other words, there is no free market, which needs to be supervised, controlled, and regulated to enforce competition rules.

"The Government, against the decisions of the Council of State, is trying in every way, directly or indirectly, to privatise water supply and sanitation services, brazenly disregarding the interests of citizens.

"With a twenty-year delay, it is reintroducing failed forms of privatisation that were applied in countries of the European Union.

"Today, all of these countries have returned water management to the state or municipalities, while the outcome of failed models is well-known: significant increases in water bills, huge burdens on consumers, questionable water quality and generally poor service."