General strike in Greece sees travel networks brought to a halt

A general strike in Greece today has brought much of the country to a halt, as trade unions stage more protests over austerity measures.

The 24-hour strike is the first major march on Greece's parliament in Athens since three people died in mass protests on May 5th.

Up to 100,000 could join today's strikes, with fears there could be more violence. As part of terms agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail-out debt-ridden Greece, its government agreed to spending cuts and tax rises to cut the budget deficit.

Travel services in the country have been severely disrupted by the strikes, and many public services including schools and hospitals may be forced to close.
During the strikes earlier this month three bank workers were killed, suffocating to death after their office was fire bombed.

Unions, including ADEDY, representing 2.5 million workers, want the government to withdraw the austerity measures. Air traffic controllers are not thought to have gone on strike, due to recent disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud.

The unions have warned more strikes could be planned.

Souce: inthenews.co.uk/ May 20, 2010