Greece’s two biggest trade unions staged a 24-hour nationwide strike yesterday, halting ferry services, causing schools and government offices to close and hospitals to operate with only emergency staff.
The protests are against fresh wage and pension cuts and the possible dismissal of 25,000 civil servants if the coalition government fails to implement more moderate measures agreed with the EU and IMF.
Foot-dragging by the government over transferring 2,000 civil servants to a “special reserve” on lower salaries to await another public sector appointment – a benchmark set by international lenders – has prompted fears that more drastic measures will be demanded as a condition for the next slice of bailout funding.
– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013)
