Return to work or be fired: That’s the message of Greece’s top transportation official to strikers, following eight days of capital city subway closures.

Strikers have been protesting government-imposed austerity measures, including pay cuts. A court ordered them back to work this week, but they refused.

In response, Transport Minister Kostis Hadzidakis said Thursday the government was imposing a civil mobilization law. Workers who don’t return to their jobs face the risk of being fired, he said.

Greece has just entered its sixth straight year of recession. As a concession to international bailout, the government has had to enact strict austerity reforms.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.