State grant to municipalities to rise by €39m as stoppage goes ahead

Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou rushed to seek Finance Minister Makis Keravnos’s agreement on a revised increase to the state grant paid to municipalities, in a bid to head off industrial action the municipalities had threatened if the government failed to raise the funding. The move came too late.

Despite the improved proposal, municipal employees held a three-hour work stoppage today between 9am and noon, with consultations now expected to follow in an effort to resolve the dispute....