Sat, Feb 11 2012

Clashes, paralysis in one-day national strike in Greece

Tue, Oct 21 2008 16:42 CET

byClive Leviev-Sawyer

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Police and protesters clashed in central Athens, flights in and hour of Greece were cancelled, train and ferry services were paralysed and everything from state to media offices were closed as Greece was hit by a 24-hour strike on October 21 2008.

According to a BBC report, riot police clashed with protesters in Athens during an otherwise peaceful strike and series of protest rallies.

Two unions - the General Confederation of Greek Workers and Federation of State Workers - together representing about 2.5 million people, called the strike in protest at privatisation, caps on pay and reforms to the pension system.

Joining in the strike are lawyers, engineers, university lecturers, Athens landfill site workers, and the media.

Ahead of the strike, it was announced that intercity, suburban railway and tram services would not be working.

At Athens International Airport, Olympic Airlines (OA) staff were scheduled to stage a walkout and air-traffic controllers held a work stoppage between noon and 4pm Athens local time.

On October 21, Bulgarian news agency Focus quoted a report by Greek daily Ta Nea that about 50 000 people in Greece were likely to lose their jobs in 2009 because of the global financial crisis.

The newspaper said that the crisis would affect households with average and low incomes. The effect will come not only from high prices, but also from taxes, as indirect taxes are expected to soar by 10 per cent in 2009.

 

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