Led by labor unions, Greek workers on Sept. 18 began a two-day general strike against austerity measures and the coming involuntary transfer and firing of scores of thousands of municipal employees, joining high school teachers who were on the third day of a rolling five-day strike, with social unrest starting to simmer over.
The strike affected all public services across Greece. Schools and courts will remain closed, while hospitals will be functioning with reduced staff. Trains were to stop running for four hours, and journalists joined in with a three-hour work stoppage, pulling news broadcasts off the air until noon.
The walkouts are the first widespread strike action after the summer and aim to put pressure on the coalition government to repeal unpopular austerity measures. Officials have vowed not to back down and hundreds of previous strikes, protests and riots against pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions have all failed to move the government from imposing more harsh conditions on the orders of international lenders.
Municipal garbage collectors, doctors at public hospitals and lawyers began their strike action as well over the so-called mobility scheme and plans to end monopolies for professionals who enjoy fixed-rate profits.
Hospital doctors will be on strike for three days, going back to work on Sept. 20 while municipal sanitation workers will not collect garbage until Sept. 19. Lawyers, who are protesting the liberalization of their sector, will not make court appearances on Sept. 18-19.
The strikes are seen as a challenge for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ coalition government. The New Democracy Conservative leader has the PASOK Socialists as a partner and are hoping to quell uneasiness while it fires people.
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