Greek Workers Strike Against New Round of Austerity

New York Times
February 7, 2012

Greek workers walked off the job on Tuesday to protest a new barrage of austerity measures being demanded by the country’s foreign creditors in exchange for a second bailout of $170 billion without which Greece faces a potentially catastrophic default within weeks.

The general strike, the second this year, comes as government officials continued tense talks with representatives of the so-called troika of foreign lenders — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — on the terms of a new loan program. Negotiations on a crucial writedown on Greek debt, expected to wipe $130 billion off the country’s debt, were continuing in parallel but depend on the success of the bailout deal.

Although airports operated as normal, other transport services were disrupted. Ferries remained moored in the country’s ports and train services were suspended. Public transport workers ran a limited service in Athens to allow protesters to join rallies in the city center. The police said about 10,000 people marched peacefully to Parliament. There was also a separate demonstration by about 10,000 Communist unionists. No arrests or injuries were reported.

The walkout also closes government offices, schools and courts and left hospitals operating on emergency staff. Many shopkeepers, exasperated at the impact of higher taxes and reduced consumer spending, closed down for the day.

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