By J. Kanoupakis
[email protected]
Unions representing employees of the state-run Public Power Corp. (PPC) have filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a bid to block a looming partial privatization of the power transmission grid operator (ADMIE) by the Greek state.
The unions, including the one that represents the biggest bloc of PPC workers, GENOP-DEI, want to protect, as the lawsuit states, employees' and PPC retirees' pension rights and assets linked to the latter's pension fund.
The lawsuit and an April 22 deadline for transferring the management of ADMIE, along with a 24-percent stake, to the China State Grid Corp., could possible activate a 100-percent sale clause for the transmission grid operator.
Nevertheless, a May 2017 deadline for ADMIE's privatization appears fleeting, although a short extension of the date may be given if the Commission's involvement -- due to procedural reasons -- is judged to have caused the delay.
Conversely, if the Greek side is judged as responsible for a delay in the partial privatization, then a risk of the entire utility being sold off arises.
