Dispute between Restaurant & Catering Union and Catering & Entertainment Association over music time limit

The music time limit is still a matter of dispute among the island's catering professionals. This summer, the number of arrests for playing music outwith times allowed has increased significantly.

The original Corfu Restaurant & Catering Union split about a year ago and part of it created an independent Old Town Catering & Entertainment Association.

Following the arrests of business owners, talking to Start TV the Corfu Catering Union President Vassilis Vassilakis blamed the professionals of the entertainment sector who do not comply with the law, resulting in strict checks on all professionals, even in the establishments where music is not the main element, such as restaurants.

Mr. Vassilakis called the actions of 3-4 business owners unacceptable and pointed out that their joint effort to extend the time limit on playing of music from 23:00 to 00:30 was accompanied by the promise that it would be respected. "They have not kept the promise we made, and as a result there is no tolerance."

"We were not wronged by others, we are the ones who took it too far," the Corfu Catering Union President said, "and as a result, the decision was eventually annulled by an appeal to the Committee of Article 152."

"We were checked and were found insolvent," said Mr. Vassilakis, adding that with the Board of the Catering & Entertainment Association, "they do not speak the same language."

Catering & Entertainment Association on Mr. Vassilakis' statements

The Catering & Entertainment Association Board called Mr. Vassilakis' statements incendiary and false: "We are very surprised and we feel bitter with Mr. Vassilis Vassilakis' statements, the Corfu Catering Union President, in a local TV channel regarding the members of our Board.

We as an Association have supported our common course from the beginning and we will continue to support it in the future along with all the demands of our colleagues without discrimination and disruptive intentions, but multiplicatively in a gentle and civilised way.

Mr. Vassilakis' division into 'they' and 'we' is not part of our vocabulary, and we cannot understand why he said all this incorrect and false information in his statements - that supposedly the promises made to the professionals of the town were not kept by 3-4 members of our Association Board.

If Mr. Vassilakis wanted to represent fairly and unitedly the colleagues he represents and not his own personal agendas, he should at least have been better informed before making these incendiary and false statements.

He should have been officially informed of how many checks have been carried out, the offences that have been made and who and when they have violated the hours during which music can be played, so that he has the whole picture.

So let us inform Mr. Vassilakis that, based on the official Police data who carry out daily checks on the Evg. Voulgareos Street, where the 3-4 colleagues to whom he refers and accuses are based, NO violation for playing music outwith times allowed or noise pollution has been found during the whole summer and therefore NONE of the offences to which he falsely refers in his statements has been confirmed.

So it would be good if he could tell us exactly who he is referring to and see which of his colleagues he is really exposing right now with these statements.

Mr. Vassilakis also knows very well why the decision to extend the hours that music is allowed, which was taken by a large majority of the Municipal Council, was annulled, and it would be good if he did not create further false impressions.

We want to believe that what we have heard in Mr. Vassilakis's statements are his personal views. As well as the fact that he should now do his research properly and publicly admit his mistake and withdraw his statements.

We are here to cooperate and support the business owners and residents of the old town with good intentions and not bad faith.

Together we all hope that we can find a comprehensive and civilised solution," concluded the Association's statement.

Photo: Enimerosi archive

CHRISTINA GEREKOU