First major strike under new government - The Best from Greece

Schools shut, hospitals worked with minimal staff and train and bus service ground to a halt on Thursday as unions hold their first major strike since a new national unity government took power last month.

 

The main protest rallies will take place in downtown Athens, with a joint GSEE-ADEDY rally starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Pedion tou Areos Park and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) affiliated PAME labor organisation's rally also starting at 11:00 a.m. at Omonia Square.

 

Both rallies will stage marches later to the Finance Ministry and to Parliament in Syntagma Square.

 

Commuter services are participating with work stoppages early in the morning and late at night, while the Athens Metro will be working as normal, in order to facilitate strikers to take part in the rallies and other demonstrations, according to employees' representatives.

 

More specifically, the Athens Metro will be running as usual up to the Doukissis Plakentias station, while the Proastiakos suburban railway and OSE (Hellenic Railway), which runs the stretch from Doukissis Plakentias to Athens International Airport, will be on a 24-hour strike.

 

However, the Metro stations at Syntagma and Panepistimio will be closed from 10:00 a.m. on.

 

Commuter bus and ISAP train employees will hold work stoppages at the beginning and end of the working day, running normally from 9:00 in the morning to 9:00 at night, trolleys will run from 8:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night, and the tram will run from 6:00 in the morning to midnight.

 

Ships will remain in port as the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation (PNO) is taking part in the 24-hour strike.

 

The Federation of Civil Aviation Authority employees' unions will also be on strike the entire day, causing cancellations of domestic and international flights.

 

Also taking part in the 24-hour strike are employees in the core and wider public sector, public utilities and organisations (DEKO), the health sector, the education sector, the justice sector, local governments, social security funds, private employees, and bank employees. The country's courts will also remain closed, as the federation of judicial employees of Greece is also taking part in the 24-hour strike.

 

 

"The strike is against this budget of austerity and social spending cuts," said Stathis Anestis, spokesman for the General Confederation of Greek Labour (GSEE), which represents about 2.5m workers.

 

The first major strike since a national unity government took over, it signals that labour unions will not soften their stance against austerity policies under the new coalition.

 

The 2012 budged is scheduled to be approved by parliament on December 7. Passing the 2012 austerity budget is one of the conditions for receiving a 130bn euro bailout from the country's international lenders.

 

Public sector trade union ADEDY, which represents about 500,000 state employees will also strike.

 

The 2012 budget includes a series of tax increases and spending cuts to ensure the budget deficit falls to at least 6.7 percent of GDP next year from 9 percent in 2011.