Across the country, workers in scientific research and higher education have taken to the streets in a rare nationwide strike, demanding structural reforms and calling attention to what they describe as a long-standing crisis in the sector.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis frequently claims that Greece is transforming “from a country of brain drain to a country of brain gain,” referring to the government’s efforts to attract back highly educated professionals who left during the financial crisis. But for those working in the country’s laboratories, universities, and research institutes, that vision rings hollow. Despite the political rhetoric, deep-rooted problems persist—chronic underfunding, understaffing, precarious employment, and outdated legal frameworks that hamper progress.
The discontent has reached a boiling point. The Panhellenic Federation of Workers in Research Centers and Institutions (POEEK-I) recently organized a 24-hour strike, bringing together dozens of unions from across Greece in what many are calling a historic show of unity. This marks the first time that so many research-sector organizations have coordinated such an action on a national scale.
At the heart of their demands is a call for immediate increases in the budgets of research institutions, the filling of vacant positions, and the elimination of discriminatory employment practices that disproportionately affect younger and more vulnerable workers. The union is also pushing for a unified higher education and research sector, and they want state funding to serve social needs rather than military agendas.
In a strongly worded statement, POEEK-I criticized successive Greek governments for promoting policies that, while claiming to address the brain drain, have in practice followed neoliberal models focused on austerity and cost-cutting. The union points to an “anachronistic and labyrinthine” legal framework that governs research today—one they say creates contradictions, inefficiencies, and room for misinterpretation. Most critically, they argue that the lack of institutional protections for workers allows political leaders and university administrators to exploit divisions between staff categories, eroding job stability and worsening inequalities.
The consequences, they say, are already visible. Two full generations of young scientists have either emigrated, are trapped in flexible and insecure work arrangements, or have simply abandoned their research careers altogether.
