A twenty-four-hour warning strike for tomorrow, Tuesday 19/12/2023, at the archaeological site of the Acropolis has been announced by the union of antiquities guards PEFFA (Panhellenic Union of Antiquities Custodians), as, as they state in their announcement, “the political leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the Management and Development Organization of Cultural Resources is proceeding with an assignment tender for the issuance of tickets to the archaeological site of the Acropolis, as well as the control of entry and cancellation of tickets for entry to the Monument”.

“The above duties” adds PEFFA “to date belong to the permanent and fixed-term prison staff. This sudden action by the Ministry of the Interior constitutes a clear allocation of public revenue to private individuals, without any clear reason and serious justification as to why they decided to give the services of the electronic ticket to a private company, for the significant amount of 2 million euros for the years 2024-2025 ” emphasize the antiquities.

In the meantime, the general council of the Panhellenic Federation of Employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (POE-YPPO) decided to support the strike mobilization of PEFFA, while a work stoppage for the services of Attica from the start of the working hours until 12.00 was announced for tomorrow by the Unified Association of Employees of the Ministry of the Ministry of Attica , Mainland and Islands, inviting its members “to participate in the mobilizations that have been announced and in the gathering at the Acropolis on the morning of Tuesday 12/19/2023 at 8 am”.

In its announcement, the Unified Association also shares a letter co-signed by 73 “workers at the archaeological site of the Acropolis on the issue of the privatization of ticketing and the control of the flow of visitors.”

Finally, the Association of Greek Archaeologists (SEA) “expresses its categorical opposition to ODAP’s intention to privatize the issuance and control of tickets to the Acropolis, the most important archaeological site in the country, both in terms of importance and revenue.

The international tender announced by ODAP, with the object of “Providing services for the operation of the electronic ticket issuing and cancellation system, reception and visitor services” in the Acropolis with a value of 1,696,320.00 euros (without VAT) for 12 months, is an unprecedented and unheard of energy” emphasizes, among other things, SEA.