Austerity Fury: Striking Greeks Clash with Police, Teargased as Crisis Deepens

A five-day nationwide strike by public sector workers in Greece is now entering entered day three with thousands flooding the streets to vent their anger over drastic state spending cuts. The country's economy has shrunk by almost a quarter since 2008 and forecasts indicate a further decline this year. And despite having received 2 massive bailout packages from international lenders Athens still needs about 10 billion euros more. RT's Lucy Kafanov reports from the Greek capital.

Austerity Protests in Spain and Portugal on Europe-wide Day of Action
Union members and activists in Madrid and Lisbon gather to join a European day of action against austerity measures. Workers in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal were all due to hold protests on Wednesday. A 24-hour strike causes transport disruptions, including many cancelled flights

Portuguese to Strike over Austerity Measures
Portugal is preparing for a general strike, as trade unions try to rally opposition to the government's austerity measures. The Portuguese economy is mired deep in recession, as many economists predict it will follow Greece and have to ask European partners for a second emergency bailout. A group of activists have made a protest video, in which they say the government's austerity measures are threatening the social gains of the past 35 years. Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips reports from Lisbon.

Greek Police Fire Tear Gas on Protesters
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Greek police fired tear gas at demonstrators in central Athens at the start of a 48-hour strike to protest austerity measures demanded by international lenders as the price for more financial aid.


As Greece teeters on the edge of bankruptcy, parliament is due to vote this week on a package of spending cuts, tax increases and privatisations agreed as part of a massive bail-out aimed at averting the euro zone's first default.

Following weeks of protests and rolling strikes, ADEDY, the public sector union representing half a million civil servants, and GSEE, which represents 2 million private sector workers, are stepping up pressure on deputies before the votes.

As thousands rallied in Syntagma square near the parliament, hundreds of hooded youths threw stones and bottles at police who responded with tear gas as the initially peaceful mood turned violent. A street umbrella was set fire outside a record-and-book store sending black smoke spiralling into the air above Syntagma Square near the parliament.

The protesters had marched through the capital chanting slogans, banging drums and carrying banners attacking the bail-out deal which many Greeks feel imposes harsh and unjust penalties on ordinary pensioners and workers while sparing the wealthy.

Transport and public services were hit, schools were shut and many shops and businesses were closed, while the streets of central Athens were virtually deserted. » | Tuesday, June 28, 2011

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Greece Suffers Fifth General Strike as Metro Blockaded in Madrid
Violence erupted in Bilbao during a one-day general strike. Photo: The Times
THE TIMES: Violence broke out during Greece’s fifth general strike of the year, while in Madrid the Metro was blockaded in a foretaste of a summer of industrial unrest.

As Mediterranean governments push through austerity measures, masked youths took part in running battles with police in Athens, with domestic flights and many ferry sailings from the port of Piraeus cancelled.

Public and private sector unions in the country announced that there would be a sixth all-out stoppage next week, when the package of pay and pension reforms comes to a final vote.

“These measures will not help. They will only lead to deeper recession and poverty,” said Despina Spanou, a board member of the Adedy civil servants’ union, which helped to organise the marches. “We are resisting the slaughtering of our rights.”

The governments of Greece and Spain are increasingly worried about the impact of unrest on tourism — which is a mainstay of both economies. >>> Philip Pangalos in Athens, William Bond in Madrid, David Charter in Brussels | Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Greece Brought to a Halt by Austerity Protest Strike
TIMES ONLINE: Much of Greece ground to a halt today as public and private sector unions called another general strike in opposition to tough government austerity measures and proposed pension reforms aimed at restoring fiscal order for the battered economy.

Traffic stopped moving around the centre of Athens with streets closed off as an estimated 20,000 demonstrators holding banners and chanting slogans marched towards the parliament building in Syntagma square. There were separate mass demonstrations in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

More than two million workers of the five million strong Greek workforce have walked off the job after a 24-hour nationwide general strike by ADEDY, the 800,000-strong civil servants’ union, was joined by the larger General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), which represents about two million workers in the private sector.

The mood was tense in parts of the capital as several hundred demonstrators aligned to anarchist or extreme leftist groups also took to the streets.

At one point, small groups of rock-throwing protestors clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas to disperse them. Although they constitute a relatively small minority of the largely peaceful but very vocal demonstrations, they were closely watched as they often clash with police or cause damage to property. >>> Philip Panaglos in Athens | Thursday, March 11, 2010

La Grèce paralysée par les grèves
LE FIGARO: Une grève nationale touchant les transports et les services publics continue de figer la Grèce pour le deuxième jour consécutif. Près de 10.000 personnes manifestent ce jeudi à Athènes contre le plan d'austérité.

La Grèce affronte ce jeudi sa deuxième journée de grève nationale, en moins d'une semaine. A l'appel des deux principaux syndicats du pays, les employés du secteur public et des transports ont cessé le travail pour protester contre le plan d'austérité. A Athènes, 10.000 manifestants défilent dans les rues, selon les chiffres de la police, aux cris de «pas de sacrifice pour la ploutocratie».

Les transports sont paralysés, le trafic aérien nul et les hôpitaux publics sont gérés par le personnel d'urgence. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Jeudi 11 Mars 2010

Related:

Several articles and videos pertaining to the crisis in Greece >>>

Liens en relation avec ces articles:

De nombreux articles relatifs à la crise financière grecque >>>

Verbunden mit diesen Artikeln:

Mehrere Artikel über die Finanzkrise in Griechenland >>>

Generalstreik gegen Sarkozys Krisenpolitik: Erhebliche Verkehrsbehinderungen am «schwarzen Donnerstag»
NZZ Online: In Frankreich ist der erste Generalstreik gegen die Krisenpolitik von Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy angelaufen. Am Morgen kam es bereits zu erheblichen Behinderungen im Nahverkehr von Paris und Marseille. Zu rund hundert Demonstrationen im ganzen Land werden Millionen Menschen erwartet. >>> ap | Donnerstag, 29. Januar 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: France Hit by National Strike on 'Black Thursday'

France woke up to a day of nationwide strikes in both the public and private sector on what has been billed as 'Black Thursday'.

However, disruption to transport networks appeared to less than expected.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected at more than 200 rallies to call on President Nicolas Sarkozy to do more to protect jobs and wages.

Three-quarters of people and all the main trade unions support the day of industrial action.

The protesters are demonstrating against the worsening economic climate and rising unemployment in France and at what they believe to be the government's poor handling of the crisis.

The main bulk of protesters will come from across the public sector, from postal workers to court officials and a huge contingent of teachers marching against Mr Sarkozy's plan not to replace 13,500 jobs in education this year when staff retire or quit the profession.

But employees from the private sector, from car plant workers but also helicopter pilots, supermarket cashiers and even ski lift operators, will also take part.

All major cities were experiencing transport delays, but slightly less than expected, particularly in Paris. >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, January 29, 2009

leJDD.fr: Grève: Le point à la mi-journée

Annoncée dans la perspective d'un "jeudi noir", la mobilisation sociale à travers tout le pays à l'appel de huit syndicats semble moins massivement suivie que prévue. Si le débrayage est bien réel et concerne de nombreux secteurs de la fonction publique et du secteur privé, les perturbations et le nombre de grévistes sont pour l'heure relativement limités. >>> Par le service Société, leJDD.fr | Jeudi 29 Janvier 2009

LE FIGARO:
”Jeudi noir” en images >>>

LE FIGARO: Une journée de grève coûte 300 à 400 millions d'euros

En Ile-de-France, une journée de grève équivaudrait à 50 millions de perte de chiffre d'affaires.

Transports paralysés, salariés coincés, journées de RTT posées, production qui prend du retard, livraisons non acheminées… La facture d'une journée de grève comme celle de jeudi peut potentiellement coûter cher aux entreprises. >>> M. Vt | Jeudi 29 Janvier 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>