Greek unions prepare for two-day walkout over austerity package
GREECE’S notoriously militant unions will today take up arms again in the fight against EU-agreed austerity measures to shore up its battered finances, doubling the length of a nationwide protest strike to two days.
The main public sector union, ADEDY, yesterday added to fears over the success of the €110bn (£95.2bn) bailout, as it said the strike would last for 48 hours from today.
“We will continue and intensify our struggle,” the union vowed.
Greek prime minister George Papandreou at the weekend unveiled draconian measures to decrease the country’s budget deficit to under three per cent by 2014. They include freezing public sector pay and pensions, upping VAT from 21 per cent to 23 per cent, and hiking duty on alcohol, tobacco and fuel by 10 per cent.