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Greek unions stage last-ditch strike

30 June 2010 13:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Greek trade unions staged a 24-hour strike yesterday in a last-ditch protest against an overhaul of the pay-as-you-go pension system being debated in parliament this week, Financial Times reported.

The walk-out shut down banks, government offices and public transport. Some domestic flights were cancelled, and seamen blocked passenger ferry sailings from Piraeus, though international flights were operating normally.

Fewer workers than expected took part in an anti-austerity march through central Athens organised by ADEDY and GSEE, the public and private sector trade unions.

The demonstration attracted an estimated 18,000 people compared with almost 50,000 at a violent protest in May when three bank workers died in a fire caused by a petrol bomb.

Yet opposition to the legislation remains strong, among workers and senior members of the governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement who fear Greek social welfare institutions are being undermined permanently.

The legislation, which includes cuts in pension payments and raises the retirement age to 65 for men and women from 2013, is seen as critical to the success of a three-year fiscal consolidation programme agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.