Protests against government austerity measures escalated yesterday, as police in Athens fired tear gas at protesters who threw petrol bombs at two luxury hotels in the central Syntagma Square outside Parliament.
Earlier yesterday, striking workers grounded flights, shut down schools and paralysed public transport – all air, rail and ferry services were cancelled, with many taxi drivers also walking off the job for hours.
Hospitals worked on skeleton staff and ministries shut down as civil servants and private sector workers stayed away.
Journalists also held a 24-hour strike, causing television, radio and Internet news blackouts, and Greek newspapers will not be published today.
The 24-hour general strike was the seventh this year organised by unions appalled at a wave of austerity policies meant to pull Greece out of its worst financial crisis since World War II.
As an anti-austerity march of about 20,000 people reached Parliament, some 200 leftists attacked former conservative minister Kostis Hatzidakis with sticks and stones, shouting: “Thieves! Shame on you!”
Witnesses said Hatzidakis’ face was covered in blood as he took shelter in a building.
Hours earlier, Parliament had approved reforms and spending cuts that are a condition of a €110 billion ($192-billion) European Union /International Monetary Fund bailout intended to dig Greece out of its debt crisis.
Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government cited the need to turn around loss-making public corporations while saving private sector jobs by allowing struggling businesses to cut costs, but Unions argue that the cutbacks are unfair and counter-effective.
“We need to send the government a message that we will not accept measures that lead us only to poverty and unemployment,” general secretary at the civil servants’ union ADEDY, Ilias Iliopoulos, said.
“After the vote late last night on the worst labour relations ever in Greece, we are warning of more action after the holidays. We will not yield, we will prevail.”
