Thousands in Greece strike to protest soaring living costs

Thousands of group person taken to nan streets successful Athens and different Greek cities arsenic a 24-hour wide onslaught to protestation against nan rising costs of surviving unopen down nationalist services and portion of Greece’s carrier network.

About 15,000 group marched successful nan superior connected Wednesday while different 4,000 demonstrated successful Greece’s 2nd largest city, Thessaloniki, constabulary said.

The Greek General Confederation of Labour said nan onslaught was a “riposte to nan government’s refusal to return measures to guarantee a decent life for workers”.

“The authorities has to understand that nan prosperity of nine depends connected that of nan workers,” it said successful a statement.

“Urgent action is needed to conflict nan surge successful prices, unaffordable lodging and nan persistence of debased wages,” said Esther Lynch, wide caput of nan European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). She was successful Greece to backmost nan action, nan ETUC said.

Boats from nan mainland to nan Aegean and Ionian islands were besides deed by nan onslaught arsenic members of nan PNO sailors national joined nan action.

Staff astatine bus, metro and train services, schools, courts and hospitals besides joined nan strike.

There is expanding anger successful Greece not conscionable astatine rising prices of nutrient but besides of housing, which are peculiarly acute successful Athens, successful a state wherever debased wages are widespread.

Inflation deed 2.4 percent year-on-year successful October, nan statistic agency Elstat reported.

On Tuesday, nan Greek journalists national carried retired its ain 24-hour strike, calling for caller corporate agreements. The past 1 dates backmost to 2008 earlier Greece’s devastating financial crisis.

The unions, which person called respective strikes since nan opening of nan year, denounce nan policies of nan blimpish authorities led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which was re-elected past twelvemonth for a new, four-year mandate.

Mitsotakis precocious announced plans to boost people’s purchasing powerfulness pinch an summation successful nan minimum costs and pensions from January.