The President of SYRIZA – PS, Alexis, had a meeting with the unions of railway workers today Tsiprasin order to discuss with them the circumstances of the accident at Tempeto hear the problems and weaknesses that exist and led to the tragedy, but also the necessary interventions that must be made, so that there is safety on the railways.

Mr. Tsipras underlined that “this tragedy it should not have been done and there is no justification”, as, as he said, “for the last two years you have persistently warned, either with your strike mobilizations, or with the extrajudicial letters you sent to the political leadership”.

At the same time, he left sharp points for the government’s attitude, citing Mr. Karamanlis’ statement in the Parliament that “it is a shame for those who talk about security issues”, such as the fact that the response to the workers’ strikes was court appeals to declare illegal the strikes.

Afterwards, Mr. Tsipras emphasized that “the tragedy is not a matter of party confrontation, it is a matter of collective confrontation, of the whole society against those who will attempt to hide the truth” adding that “the denial of responsibility, the diffusion of responsibility, offsets are an attempt to cover up”. “The whole of Greek society demands the truth and demands justice” he noted and commented on the government’s claims saying that “one responsibility is individual, of the station master exclusively, the other is collective, of everyone together, so no one in particular”.

“It’s a pendulum of disclaimer, from individual to collective. What we heard yesterday that ‘we are all to blame’ reminds me of ‘we all ate it together'” Mr. Tsipras added.

“Let’s do everything for the truth and justice, because the Greek society is asking for accountability” said the President of SYRIZA – PS clarifying “not to take revenge on anyone, but to find out how and why. Not only to see what happened that fateful night, but also to see what we will do from now on to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, to have safety in a means of transport that should be – and in Europe it is – the safest.”

Genidounias: They underestimated our complaints and warnings

“As a train drivers’ union, we will not accept that it was human error. This is clear”, stressed Kostas Genidounias, President of the Union of Engine Drivers, during the meeting with the President of SYRIZA PS. As he mentioned, with this position, the European Federation of Train Drivers has also been drafted, making the necessary moves at the European level, in order to ensure that “the main responsibility will not be transferred”.

“Throughout this period, we had intensified our efforts, we denounced the deficiencies, we sent lawsuits. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the complaints was probably underestimated,” Mr. Genidounias emphasized, also conveying to Mr. Tsipras on behalf of the unions that they were “slandered” and accused of telling “lies” or of serving “purposes”.

Regarding the reopening of the railways, he emphasized that the workers are also in this direction, however, they will go up as soon as they have “proposals that will ensure absolute safety”, with a “clear schedule”, which, as he pointed out, did not happen at yesterday’s meeting with the ministry.

For his part, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Railways and Fixed Track Vehicles (POS – MST), Ioannis Ditsas, emphasized that “we tried to highlight the problems either in court, or with announcements, press releases, or with strike actions, underlining that in all the claims of the railways had the word “safety”.