Greece crippled by national strike

Greece’s state sector shut down today as civil servants walked off the job in a 24-hour strike, demanding the government take…

Greece’s state sector shut down today as civil servants walked off the job in a 24-hour strike, demanding the government take back stringent austerity measures designed to pull the country out of a debt crisis.

Tax offices, municipalities, schools and universities closed, while state-run hospitals are functioning on emergency staff as doctors walked off the job for the day.

All planes flying to and from Greece will be grounded for four hours this afternoon as air traffic controllers join the protests between 1pm and 5pm Irish time. Other flights face disruption throughout the day, and Greece’s two main airlines, Olympic Air and Aegean, cancelled or changed the times of dozens of flights because of the strike.

Protesting workers and students are expected to march to parliament this afternoon.

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Greece narrowly avoided defaulting on its debts in May after the International Monetary Fund and other European Union countries using the euro granted it rescue loans under a three-year €110 billion package. In return, the government has imposed austerity measures that included trimming pensions, cutting civil servants’ salaries and increasing taxes.

Unions and many businesses have complained that the measures are stifling the economy, leading to layoffs and the closure of hundreds of small businesses squeezed between higher taxes and consumers’ reduced purchasing abilities.

“Every day that goes by, it becomes clear that this policy by the government, the IMF and the EU, which leads workers and society to poverty and misery, is also a dead end for the economy,” the main civil servants’ union, ADEDY, said in its call for a strike.

The government predicts in its 2011 draft budget unveiled this week that unemployment will jump from this year’s projected 11.6 per cent to 14.5 per cent in 2011 and 15 per cent the following year.

Unions have carried out a series of strikes and demonstrations since the start of the year against the austerity plan.

The government insists it has no choice but to implement the measures, which aim to overhaul the country’s ailing economy and have also included reforms to Greece’s fractured and ailing pension system.

Agencies