9 February, 2009
The ICEM last week joined the campaign calling for justice for Constantina Kuneva, a Bulgarian migrant worker and trade union activist, who was attacked with sulphuric acid while on her way home from work. Ms. Kuneva is General Secretary of PEKOP, the Athens-based All Attica Union of Cleaners and Domestic Workers.
The attack, which took place on 22 December 2008, left Ms. Kuneva without the use of an eye and her vocal chords. She is still in a hospital.
In a letter to Greek Minister for Employment, Ms. Fani Palli-Petralia, General Secretary Manfred Warda heavily criticised the inadequacy of the investigation into the vicious attack. “The ICEM strongly protests the unacceptable delay and most deficient investigation procedure into the murderous attack.”
Warda praised the reopening of the case by police, as well as the extended time allotted to collect information, but reaffirmed an “urgent demand that the police and judicial authorities conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and punished and the victim properly compensated.”
The ICEM fully supports the work of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE), along with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in its work defending Ms. Kuneva.
In a similar letter to the Greek Minister of Justice, Mr. Nikos Dendias, Warda clarified the suspicious nature of the attack. “A few weeks before this awful attack, Constantina Kuneva had warned that she felt in grave danger as a result of her union activities. In an interview for the ITUC at the end of November, she had also denounced the poverty wages and harsh working conditions in this sector.”
The cleaning sector in Greece is 80% comprised of migrant workers and a vast majority are women. The ICEM will closely monitor the situation and call upon Greek authorities to prevent the spread of criminal activities that are related to labour relations.