The government was insensitive to the suffering of workers and was putting more pressure on industries and businesses, the General Workers' Union said yesterday in view of the latest rise in fuel prices.

While factories were going through a hard time - more than 1,000 jobs were lost - they now took a turn for the worse given the exorbitant rise in fuel prices, the union said.

The price of thin fuel oil rose from €41 to €46, which meant an increase of almost 11 per cent. Higher fuel prices would raise production expenses to the detriment of the country's competitiveness, it added.

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