Greece paralysed by strikes in austerity protest

As Greece struggles to avoid a catastrophic default, demonstrators in Athens yesterday expressed outrage over their misfortune and bewilderment at a crisis that shows no signs of easing.

At least 16,000 protesters converged in central Athens, and another 10,000 gathered in the northern city of Thessaloniki, chanting slogans, banging drums and blowing whistles.

Most were peaceful but clashes broke out near parliament as demonstrators threw stones at riot police, who fired tear gas.

Air traffic controllers joined the 24-hour strike, grounding all flights. State hospitals were running on emergency staff, while lawyers, teachers and tax officers also walked out. Public transport employees were holding stoppages in the morning and evening, and state TV and radio pulled news programmes off the air.

Civil servants are protesting at plans to suspend about 30,000 staff on partial pay, part of new cutbacks that come on top of salary and pension cuts. Greece has also seen repeated waves of tax hikes over the past 18 months.

The country relies on a package of international bailout loans but has slipped on meeting budget targets required to qualify for the funds. The country is suffering through a deep recession, with the economy expected to contract 5.5 per cent this year, and unemployment has spiralled to above 16 per cent as businesses have closed.

Antonio Borges, the head of the IMF’s Europe programme, piled pressure on Greece to take more stringent measures to get its economy back on track, saying there was no rush to take a decision on the next slice of bailout money because the country does not face a big bond repayment deadline until December.

Protesters in Athens directed anger at the foreign creditors, saying they had little hope that the hardship inflicted by austerity measures would yield benefits in the long run.