GREECE: Strikes against austerity reforms

Record ID: 713237

  • Title: GREECE: Strikes against austerity reforms
  • Date: 21st May 2010
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (MAY 20 2010) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS GATHERED AROUND PODIUM, LISTENING TO LEADERS SPEAKING LEADER SPEAKING FROM PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) SPIROS PAPASPIROS, LEADER OF ADEDY UNION, SAYING: "The IMF should get out of Greece so that people can take back their lives." PROTESTERS LISTENING TO SPEECHES OF UNION LEADERS VARIOUS MARCH STARTS PROTESTERS CARRYIN
  • Embargoed: 5th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7JHHSV4KPIZQ21L3U7WVCSL4H
  • Story Text: Main trade unions march in rally as part of a joint strike by Greek public and private sector workers over pension reforms and austerity.
    Members of the two main trade unions and Communist party supporters marched on parliament on Thursday (May 20) as part of a 24-hour strike over government austerity measures in a test to the government's resolve to implement reforms aimed at pulling Greece out of a severe debt crisis.
    Several thousand turned out for the march, but the turnout was much lower than in the last strike on May 5, where some 50 thousand attended those marches.
    It is the sixth strike by civil servants and the fourth by private sector workers since the government announced tough austerity measures for the country to save the economy.
    Thursday's strike was called by unions representing 2.5 million workers, half the country's workforce, who want the government to withdraw "pain for gain" austerity measures agreed with the EU and IMF in return for a 110 billion-euro ($137 billion) emergency aid package.
    "The IMF should get out of Greece so that people can take back their lives," said the ADEDY union leader Spiros Papaspiros addressing the rally before the start of the march.
    The unions representing workers across Greece, and Communist party supporters belonging to the unions are angry over a pension bill unveiled last week to raise the retirement age and curtail early retirement.
    "Hands off social security," read one of the banners held by the marching protesters.
    Opinion polls show most Greeks agree reforms are necessary to stem the country's debt crisis but they are angry because they believe the burden is being unfairly shouldered by the poor while the rich evade taxes.
    The repeated strikes and protests have affected the key tourism sector, with industry bodies saying thousands of cancellations in Athens hotels followed the last strike on May 5 where three people were killed in the protests.
    The previous airport and ship strikes also disrupted tourists schedules and tourists were shut out of the Acropolis again on Thursday as in previous strikes.
    Unions say they will keep up protests against the reforms.
    Investors are watching to see if the labour actions will break the government's resolve to implement the tough measures, but so far the government has not wavered.
    A 50,000 strong anti-austerity march on May 5 turned violent when protesters lobbed petrol bombs at a bank in Athens killing three employees, including a pregnant woman. It was the worst violence to hit Greece since riots paralysed Athens for weeks in December 2008.
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