It’s the first general strike in Greece since the left-wing government first came to power in January, with workers across the country to walk off the job to protest against yet more spending cuts and tax hikes.
Advertisement
Public transport was severely disrupted.
Police in Greece fired tear gas to disperse anti-austerity demonstrators after clashes broke out in the capital Athens on Thursday.
In a first, the governing Syriza party will be backing the walkout against the measures as leader Alexis Tsipras said he had no choice but to implement them as part of a bailout deal to avoid economic disaster. Athens’ metro is not running, bus and trolley routes have been considerably reduced and connections between Greece’s multiple islands and mainland has been almost brought to a halt as public ferries remain tied up in ports.
A march in Athens by a Communist-backed union gathered around 15,000 people, while 4,000 or so participated in a labour union demonstration and another 5,000 joined in a protest organized by anti-establishment and anarchist groups.
Illustrating the political juggling act Tsipras is attempting to pull off, his own Syriza party came out in support of the strike, saying the hand of the government strengthened in talks with lenders.
The strike has already led to the cancellation of dozens of domestic flights, and a shutdown of public services.
A few printed media is expected to hit the streets, although online news outlets are not being updated.
Tsipras, who won re-election in September, signed up to the bailout in a dramatic policy change despite initially having campaigned vigorously against bailouts and their accompanying conditions of austerity.
A few people opted to work.
A two billion euro cash disbursement and 10 billion euros to recapitalise four systemic banks was delayed this week amid disagreement over the level of protection homeowners should have from foreclosures for non-payment of debts.
Advertisement
While Greece has met numerous requirements, it remains at odds with creditors over how to deal with non-performing loans and the repossession of homes whose owners have fallen into arrears on mortgage payments.
