News / EU

Journalists in Greece strike over government austerity measures

Wednesday, 02 December 2015 2:58 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 December 2015 2:59 PM ]

An elderly woman wrapped in a Greek flag takes part in a massive demonstration as part of a 24-hour general strike in Athens, Greece, November 12, 2015. (AFP photo)

Journalists have staged a massive walkout against the Greek government’s planned austerity measures demanded by the international lenders under the third bailout package to the cash-strapped country.

Latest media reports indicate that the 24-hour strike put a halt to news programs, website updates and newspaper publications in the country on Wednesday. Several news websites were not refreshed after 6:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).

The journalists say they are concerned about working conditions.

On Thursday, the biggest public and private sector unions in Greece, representing millions of workers, plan to hold a nationwide strike in protest against budget and pension reforms.

The December 3 work stoppage is expected to disrupt public transport, including domestic flights. Schools and hospitals will also remain closed.

On November 26, thousands of Greek pensioners held demonstrations across the country to protest against the government’s planned pension cuts and changes to social security contained in the budget plan for 2016. The budget is expected to be voted in parliament on December 5.

People march in central Athens, Greece, during an anti-austerity protest against pension cuts, November 26, 2015. (AFP photo)

The Greek Labor Ministry is also working on a new system under which state-guaranteed pensions will be reportedly cut by half, to a minimum of 384 euros.

Last month, the administration of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras approved a law scrapping most of the early retirement benefits, raising the retirement age, and increasing contributions for healthcare.

The law also includes plans to overhaul the Greek pension system, merging several pension funds into one and reducing supplementary pensions.

The law was passed in exchange for a three-year 86-billion-euro (93-billion-dollar) bailout that Athens accepted recently from its creditors, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, to save the Mediterranean state from crashing out of the eurozone.

In July, the government of Tsipras agreed to the demands for austerity measures by the lenders in exchange for the multi-billion bailout deal.

The decision triggered outrage among the Greeks. Opponents of the move argue that Tsipras came to power in January on an anti-austerity platform. Greece has already received two bailouts in 2010 and 2012, worth a total of 240 billion euros (USD 272 billion) from its creditors following the economic crisis in the country back in 2009.

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