A nationwide strike by Greek civil servants to protest ever steeper austerity measures paralyzed the entire country today, bringing transportation to a halt and grounding all flights. Teachers and lawyers joined the work stoppage and even hospitals were running only on emergency staff. The BBC reports that at least 16,000 people have joined the 24-hour protests organized by the main unions in central Athens. Police have fired tear gas at small groups of protesters who threw stones.
COMMENT: Dozens of masked youths, some waring gas masks, threw stones at police guarding Parliament, at Athens University and outside luxury hotels on the fringes of the capital's central Constitution Square. 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 seen repeated waves of tax hikes over the past year and a half.
Unfortunately, Greece has fallen behind on its meeting budget targets required to qualify for another bailout. Also, the government has only enough funds for public salaries and pension through mid-November, so regardless how vocal and disruptive protesters become, in the end, the EU and the IMF will have the last word.
To make matters worse, conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron has gently intimated that the UK might be better off being outside of the EU. Another possibility for Greece is that failure to meet deficit reductions could potentially result in expulsion from the EU, unlikely as that may be.
Inbound travelers to Greece should be prepared for continued transportation disruptions in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities and islands in coming weeks.
COMMENT: Dozens of masked youths, some waring gas masks, threw stones at police guarding Parliament, at Athens University and outside luxury hotels on the fringes of the capital's central Constitution Square. 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 seen repeated waves of tax hikes over the past year and a half.
Unfortunately, Greece has fallen behind on its meeting budget targets required to qualify for another bailout. Also, the government has only enough funds for public salaries and pension through mid-November, so regardless how vocal and disruptive protesters become, in the end, the EU and the IMF will have the last word.
To make matters worse, conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron has gently intimated that the UK might be better off being outside of the EU. Another possibility for Greece is that failure to meet deficit reductions could potentially result in expulsion from the EU, unlikely as that may be.
Inbound travelers to Greece should be prepared for continued transportation disruptions in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities and islands in coming weeks.
