Greek riot police intervened to push away a group of striking workers trying to storm the Ministry of Health in downtown Athens on Thursday.
Members of the Public Health Workers’ Union (POEDHN) were demonstrating against cuts in healthcare and their exclusion from the category of ‘heavy and unhealthy occupations’, which entitles them to an added bonus.
A group demanded a meeting with ministers which was originally refused. They were pushed back by police before a delegation was eventually allowed to enter the building for talks.
Earlier, demonstrators wearing masks lampooning Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Deputy Health Minister Pavlos Polakis distributed bread and olives to passers-by.
They also made new holes in their belts to symbolize the “tightening of belts” imposed by the austerity policies enacted by Tsipras’ SYRIZA-led government.
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