The Athens state is preparing a new shrinkage of ELTA in Rhodes

There is no end in sight to the new hardships expected to arise on the island of Rhodes, in the very near future due to the reduction in active-duty personnel being planned by the Athens Command.

According to information from *Rodiaki*, which has been fully confirmed by local employee representatives, by the end of October, three more ELTA offices in Rhodes are expected to close:

• In the Lindos area

• In Archangelos

• In Kalythies

It should be noted that three months ago, the ELTA post office operating in Malona was also closed; in addition to Malona, it served the residents of the villages of Massari and Kalathos. No new post office has opened in its place to date.

As the employees point out, management’s goal is to lay off all ELTA contract workers, thereby disregarding the consequences and problems this will cause for mail delivery—and not only for more than 20,000 residents in the wider region.

This plan, which aims to have the residents of Kalythia, Archangelos, Massara, Malona, and Kalathos, and the residents of Lindos by the Gennadi post office, respectively, will inevitably cause enormous inconvenience to the wider region.

The… expert advisors who sign off on these kinds of decisions—who don’t even know where… these areas are located on the map, are unaware even of the basic problems that arise, such as the issue of distances, as well as how distribution will be handled within the villages.

According to ELTA regulations, due to the distances involved, mail in these villages will be delivered by car (ELTA employees are prohibited from using motorcycles), with the result that in villages where the roads are narrow, the distribution and delivery of mail or registered letters is, in practice, impossible.

This development is expected to cause tremendous inconvenience as well as backlash from the residents themselves, since from now on, residents of Archangelos will have to travel to the Afantou area to pick up their registered mail.

All of this flawed planning, which aims to save a minimal amount of money by laying off contract workers and closing two or three ELTA offices, essentially devalues the citizens themselves and the local community, while paving the way for the entire operations of ELTA to be handed over to private companies.

However, the employees themselves and their representatives, who spoke yesterday to *Rodiaki*, point out that if the plan agreed upon a few years ago had been implemented correctly and methodically, no office would have closed, no contract workers would have been laid off, and, of course, citizens would not be inconvenienced by delays, etc., as has been the case until now.

EMERGENCY MEETING OF THE ARCHANGELOS LOCAL COUNCIL

In a statement issued last night by Archangelos President Mr. Nikolas Dimelis, he said the following on this matter:

”My fellow residents, our local council will hold a special meeting tomorrow, October 18, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the continued operation of the Archangelos post office. This is a historic service deeply intertwined with our local community.Early this morning, I informed all government members of parliament, the Deputy Minister of Merchant Marine, Mr. Yiannis Papa, and the Prime Minister’s office, to whom the decision will be sent. Our decision will emphasize the necessity of the post office for the wider region, as well as the unconditional continuation of its operations in Archangelos. Sincerely, Nikolaos K. Dimelis, President of the Archangelos Community.”