Athens: Bags of rubbish and rotting vegetables are piled high on the pavements of Greek capital's port of Piraeus - signs of a mounting labour dispute fast turning into a public health crisis.

On Monday Pensioner Fotini Papadaki held her nose as she added her own small bag to the mounds.

With rubbish piling up in parts of the city, Athens municipality urged residents not to take out their household waste. Credit:Getty Images

"It's deplorable, I understand job worries but taking it out on society ... is going too far," she said.

Around her, early morning commuters dodged past the reeking sacks as garbage collectors and other municipal workers entered the second week of their walkout.