ATHENS - Greek civil servants walked off the job yesterday, paralyzing the government and public transport to protest ever-deeper austerity measures.
As Greece struggles to avoid a catastrophic default, demonstrators expressed outrage over their misfortune and bewilderment at a crisis that shows no signs of easing....
At least 16,000 protesters converged on central Athens, and another 10,000 gathered in Thessaloniki. The vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful, but a few dozen protesters near parliament threw stones at police, who fired tear gas....
Air traffic controllers joined the 24-hour strike, grounding all flights. State hospitals were running on emergency staff; lawyers, teachers, and tax officers did not work. Public transport employees were holding work stoppages, and state television and radio pulled news programs off the air.
C'mon, America, get with it!
Civil servants are protesting 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 had numerous tax hikes over the past year and a half....
All so thieving bankers could get paid.
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