Garbage crisis hits Greek capital over job freeze
ATHENS, Greece — With a heat wave expected later this week, Greece’s government Monday urging striking garbage collectors to return to work after a 10-day protest has left huge piles of trash around Athens.
Striking workers scuffled with riot police in central Athens outside the stuttered entrance of a ministry building, where a union delegation was expected to present its demands.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 42 degrees Celsius in Athens (107 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the week, prompting a public health agency to issue a warning over the continuing strike.
“The continued accumulation of garbage … combined with high temperatures poses a risk to public health,” the state-run Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.