ATHENS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua)--- Greek labor unions of civil servants and private sector employees marked on Wednesday the European Day of Action, stepping up protests over harsh austerity measures implemented by the government this year to overcome an acute debt crisis.
A large part of the public sector was paralyzed for hours on Wednesday, as employees at public transportation, hospitals and utility companies were called to walk out of work and join massive demonstrations organized by General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) and the Civil Servants’ Confederation (ADEDY) in front of the European Union Offices in Athens and the Greek parliament.
Thousands of commuters nationwide suffered, since the subway, trains and buses did not operate for four hours and dockworkers joined the protest with work stoppages at the ports earlier in the morning.
People try to get a taxi in the center of Athens on September 29, 2010 during a five-hour work stoppage by public transport employees on September 29, 2010. (AFP)
Public hospitals across the country run on limited personnel all day due to a 24-hour strike organized by the doctors ‘ and nurses’ unions.
"Employees, unemployed and pensioners who suffer from the unfair policies of the memorandum signed by the government and lenders will get out on the streets," said a statement released by GSEE.
"This year Greek citizens witness the most barbaric attack on their wages, working status and pension rights. Social imbalances increase, as well as unemployment, incomes decrease and with more tax hikes economy declines to recession and more and more people suffer from poverty,"added ADEDY.
A protestor shouts slogans while joining striking Hellenic railways employees and other public tranport unions in a protest march in Athens on September 29, 2010. Greek workers unions joined the European day of action against the austerity measures with the main unions demonstrations scheduled later in the day. (AFP)
Debt-ridden Greece reached the brink of default this spring and the socialist government was forced to introduce a string of cutbacks on salaries, tax hikes and unpopular structural reforms to face the crisis with the aid of European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In May Greece secured a 110 billion euro (149.43 billion U.S. dollars) financial aid package over a three-year period in exchange of the full implementation of a Stability and Growth Program to slash a budget deficit that in late 2009 stood at 13 percent of GDP to less than 3 percent by 2014 and return to the development path.
This December Athens is due to receive the third tranche of EU-IMF funds for this year.
The country has been hit with a wave of strikes and protests over the past few months, as labor unions oppose the government policies, even though a wide majority of Greek people, according to pollsters, agree that Greece should change dramatically to face the crisis.
