Organizers of the Athens Summer Games warned Greece that more strike action like the 24-hour strike that began at midnight Wednesday could threaten the Summer Games in August.
And the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Greece would have to make up for the effects of the work stoppage on the construction of venues that are already far behind schedule.
Denis Oswald the IOC’s head inspector said contractors could make up delays and called on unions not to make of habit of striking before the Games in August. But he added, “I have been told that there is an agreement between the unions and the government that there will be no strikes during the Games. I do not know if there will be other strikes on the way to the Games”.
But the union hinted that more stoppages were possible to advance workers’ demands for more pay.
Oswald told reporters, “as long as they can still compensate with work on Saturdays and Sundays I think it won’t be a problem. But of course if this strike will be repeated many times it would have an effect”.
According to Reuters, Olympic construction firms it contacted said the situation on building sites was mixed, with some staff late because of traffic jams.
A spokesperson for one firm working on revamping the Olympic Stadium complex said, “work attendance in our construction sits ranges from 40 per cent to 80 per cent depending on the site”.
