Anyone with a ferry ticket from Rafina on Friday 30 October should expect the crossing to be cancelled. The Panhellenic Union of Merchant Navy Engineers (PEMEN) and the Panhellenic Union of Merchant Navy Seafarers (PENEN) have called a 24-hour strike from 00:01 to 24:00 on Friday, affecting all categories of ships at the ports of Piraeus, Rafina, Lavrio, Patras and Igoumenitsa. According to ERT, ships are also expected to remain moored in Elefsina and Rio–Antirrio.
On the same day, civil servants in Attica and secondary school teachers are taking part in a strike. All these protests are linked to the International Day of Action by dockworkers, which is taking place on Friday in more than 100 ports around the world.
The ships
Seafarers are calling for 12 per cent pay rises in collective agreements, a seven-hour working day, improved crew composition, the mandatory presence of a doctor on board ships, and the recognition of dangerous maritime areas as war zones. The unions cite the attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea. Furthermore, the Federation of Permanent Port Employees of Greece has called for a three-hour work stoppage from 10.00 to 13.00.
If you have booked a ticket for Friday, please contact the ferry company or your travel agent to change the date or request a refund. The strike only affects Friday; Thursday and Saturday sailings are not affected.
The public sector and schools
ADEDY has called a work stoppage for civil servants in Attica from 8.00 am to 12.00 pm, so that they can attend the 10.00 rally at the Municipal Theatre Square in Piraeus. The strike applies to all those working in the public sector, including teachers. If you are planning to visit a public service office on Friday morning, please ring ahead first: it may be operating as normal, or it may be running with reduced staff.
OLME, the secondary school teachers’ federation, has called for a two-hour work stoppage from 12:00 until the end of the working day in Attica and Achaea. Together with the ADEDY work stoppage in the morning, teachers will be on strike for the entire working day on Friday. The strike will not result in schools being closed; however, in lower and upper secondary schools where teachers take part, some lessons may be cancelled and pupils may be dismissed early. Schools usually inform parents the day before; if you have not heard anything by Thursday afternoon, please contact the school administration.
Thursday 29 October: the local authority’s accountability report
On Thursday at 18:00, the 4th special accountability meeting of the municipal authority will take place in the council chamber of the Town Hall, on the corner of Vas. Pavlou and Fleming Streets in Spata. The sole item on the agenda is the report covering the four-month period from July to October 2026. Councillors and community chairpersons had until 25 October to submit one item each, and if the number of items exceeds ten, they are selected by lot, as we reported on 14 October. To date, the Municipality has not published which topics have been submitted. No decisions are taken at the meeting.
Electricity: two power cuts in Spata
HEDNO has scheduled a power cut on Saturday 31 October, from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, in the plain towards Paiania: from the Spata–Koropi Avenue towards the airport and on rural roads on the borders with Paiania and Koropi. On Tuesday 3 November, from 8.00 am to 1.00 pm, the outage will affect the Petres area, Spata–Pikermi Avenue, Eleftherias Street and rural roads. In the event of a fault, HEDNO can be contacted on 11500.
Source: PEMEN, PENEN, ADEDY and OLME, press releases as reported by ertnews.gr (28 October 2026); Municipality of Spata–Artemida, invitation to the 4th special accountability meeting, ref. no. 84270/14-10-2026; HEDNO, scheduled power cuts (28 October 2026).
