Investors requested to withdraw bids for Thessaloniki

A large group of Greek, European and international organisations, networks and others have requested the bidders for the Thessaloniki Water and Sewage Company to withdraw their bids. They want the bidders to respect the wishes of the workers and local communities who do not want their company to be run by private operators.

All of the companies that are bidding have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies that claim to respect and work with the local communities. If the local communities do not want the companies, then these should not push ahead and prefer profits over local demands.

EPSU’s Deputy General Secretary “Our message is clear: respect the point of view of the local communities in Thessaloniki. Do not seek profits based on an imposed plan of privatisation that has no support of workers and citizens who want their company to remain in public hands. It is a test for the companies involved to what extent their CSR polices are for real or a smoke screen to give a silver lining to hard pecuniary interests.”

A recent opinion poll indicated that close to 65% of the Greek people are strongly opposed to the privatisation of water services. Municipalities, trade unions, local social groups and political parties have expressed opposition to the privatisation of the company.

For the joint letter: http://europeanwater.org/actions/

For the joint press release: http://europeanwater.org/news/press-releases/

An overview of the interests of the companies by the Public Services International Research Unit of the University of Greenwich is available at: http://www.epsu.org/a/9664.

Read more at http://www.epsu.org/a/9665