Maravi

Greece hit by fresh 24-hour strike over austerity plans

Greece hit by fresh 24-hour strike over austerity plans
By BBC News
Tue 29 June 2010, 10:00 CAT

Another 24-hour general strike is under way in Greece in protest at planned pension and labour reforms. Trade unions say ferry services and international flights will be disrupted, leaving tourists stranded.

The industrial action comes as the parliament is due to debate austerity measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund and European Union. They include cutting pensions, raising the retirement age and making it easier for companies to dismiss employees.

Greece has been suffering a severe economic crisis, and the government is imposing a swathe of austerity measures in return for a 110bn-euro (£89bn) bail-out from the EU and IMF.

Blockade threat

After more than six months of austerity measures and industrial strife, the confrontation between the government and the trade unions is reaching a climax, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

Parliament is to start discussing the proposed reforms on Tuesday, in a debate expected to last more than a week.

The challenge for the trade unions is to get as many people on the streets as possible to convince potentially rebellious Socialist MPs to vote against their own party and defeat the bill, our correspondent says.

He adds that much attention will be focused on the port of Piraeus, where Communist-affiliated unionists plan to prevent ferries from sailing to the Greek islands.

Their strike has been declared illegal, as was a similar blockade last week. Then the government did not enforce the court order, and thousands of tourists had their travel plans disrupted.

The holiday industry was in uproar, claiming that such confrontations did irreparable damage to Greek tourism, which generates almost 20% of national income.

The big question is whether the government will try to break the blockade in order to help the tourists, or do nothing, for fear of aggravating the unions during the period of this crucial debate, our correspondent adds.

Strikes against austerity measures have brought the country to a standstill on several occasions, closing airports, roads and railways.

Labels: IMF, NEOLIBERALISM, SAP, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 2:21 PM