Greek strike disrupts flights, cripples services

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 10:30:00 AM CET

Greek strike disrupts flights, cripples services

Photo: AP

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A general strike halted public transportation across Greece on Wednesday and led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights at Athens International Airport, as unions stepped up opposition to the country's austerity measures.

State hospital doctors, ambulance drivers, pharmacists, lawyers and tax collectors also joined school teachers, journalists and thousands of small businesses in the 24-hour strike as more middle-class groups took part in the protest than have in the past. Athens' main shopping district was mostly empty, as many small business owners shuttered their stores.

This year's first major labor protest in Greece began as Prime Minister George Papandreou's Socialist government faces international pressure to make more lasting cuts after the nation's debt-crippled economy was rescued from bankruptcy by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

http://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/220086-greek-strike-disrupts-flights-cripples-services.html#.1264-stage-set2-1 

Greece general strike: Clashes erupt

Greece general strike: Clashes erupt

Police have fired tear gas to disperse dozens of stone-throwing demonstrators in Athens as a 24-hour general strike grips Greece....

The violence erupted during a rally by more than 30,000 angry workers near the Greek parliament. They object to the government's far-reaching budget cuts.

The strike paralysed public transport. More than 100 flights were cancelled.

Many schools are closed and hospitals have reduced services. Small businesses have joined in, closing many shops.

It is Greece's first major labour protest this year, as the government sticks to austerity cuts demanded under the terms of the country's international bail-out.

The Socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou is cutting spending and raising taxes to reduce its debt mountain.

Last year Greece secured a 110bn-euro (£84bn) bail-out from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

http://www.bbc.co.uk