Galery

1

The two biggest Greek trade unions of private and civil servants GSEE and ADEDY supported by many branch trade unions are on strike today. They protest against the anti-employee and anti-social policies of the PASOK government and insist on the withdrawal of the neo-liberal measures of the government and on respecting the workers' rights. The strikers are against the Memorandum of financial support signed with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund and they fear that the new package of financial support will include new, more stringent cuts in spending and tighter financial supervision.

All government offices will be closed today as well as the state electricity, postal, water, telecommunications enterprises. The strike also involves bank officers and employees of local authorities. Public hospitals serve only emergencies; the media will not have news and other broadcasts until 6 am on the 12^th of May.

It is also difficult to move around the city due to the significant participation of transport workers in the protest. The trains and the intercity train which connects the suburbs of Athens stop moving for 24 hours. The electric train that connects Athens with Piraeus, the subway, the trams and trolleys will run today to serve the participation of workers in the protest rallies scheduled for today at noon, but they will stop running after the demonstrations.

The protest march of the trade unions will be held in downtown Athens at 11 am and the communist trade union will start its march at the same time but on Omonia Square. Many trade unions will also start separate processions to the relevant ministries and after 12 o’clock at noon all processions will join on Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament.

The 4-hour strike of air traffic controllers that will be held between 12 o’clock at noon 4 pm will be hamper today тhe flights to and from Greece. Many national and international flights are canceled and many others will take off late.