TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Members of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) has gone on a 24-hour strike on Thursday, causing widespread disruption to public services and necessitated the cancellation of hundreds of flights and public transportation services across the country.
GSEE—a private-sector labour union—and its public sector counterpart, the Civil Servants' Confederation (ADEDY) called on all Greek workers to go on strike to protest the decision of European Union (EU) leaders as well the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who demanded more austerity measures to be imposed in the country, which included more pension reforms and employee layoffs.
All incoming and outgoing international flights as well as domestic flights had to be cancelled as air traffic controllers walked out to join the strike. Train and ferry services have also been cancelled. Only emergency services were available at hospitals, while tax and other local public offices remained shut for the remainder of the strike.
"GSEE hereby rejects the dogmatic obsession of the government and the troika with austerity policies and tax increases," said the labor union through a statement, as quoted by Reuters. Troika refers to the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF, who has bailed Greece out of its financial woes twice since its sovereign debt crisis began.
The workers confederation accuses the government of trying to bring the Greek labor force back to the "medieval times" and for imposing policies, which are causing "a humanitarian crisis".
Thousands of Greeks are preparing to rally in front of the Greek Parliament building later on in the day to mark the strike, the size of which reflects the extent of disappointment and exasperation among Greeks as incomes dropped significantly and unemployment soared above 25 percent.
The result of Thursday's rally may provide the Greek opposition some firepower against the current conservative government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. The premier is currently under pressure from EU and IMF creditors, who are pushing for more austerity measures in a bid to reduce Greece's budget deficit.
Previously, Samaras has imposed repeated rounds of austerity measures to ensure that Greece continues to receive bailout funds—a stance that he is abandoning in an attempt to secure the popular vote that he needs to remain in power next year.
ANTARA
