Civil servants, workers, professionals, freelancers and pensioners rallied on Thursday protesting against austerity as the 24-hour general strike put the Greek State in gridlock.
The General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and the Greek Civil Servants’ Confederation (ADEDY) have called on all Greeks to rally against government policies. GSEE and ADEDY organized a rally that started at Pedio tou Areos park and ended at Syntagma Square, in front of the parliament building.
Public transport means operated on certain hours only to facilitate demonstrators. Ships are tied in the ports due to the dock workers’ 48-hour strike. TrainOSE have cancelled all train routes for 24 hours.
Public hospitals operated with emergency personnel, while banks, utility companies, security funds, and all public offices were closed. Schools and universities were also closed.
The strike is mainly against the planned labor reforms, taxation and cuts in pensions and wages that are under negotiation with Greece’s lenders as part of the bailout program requirements.
“The burden we carry is already unbearable,” a GSEE statement said, calling creditors’ “irrational.”
The labor reforms negotiated include liberalization of mass layoffs, the lockout, collective bargaining between unions and employers and minimum wage.
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