Transport ground to a halt in Greece on Wednesday as a general strike called by unions got under way, just weeks after a similar protest descended into chaos.
Masked youths threw petrol bombs and rocks while police responded with tear gas and stun grenades on February 28 when a demonstration by around 200,000 people in Athens marking the second anniversary of the country’s worst rail tragedy turned violent.
The latest protest organised by public- and private-sector unions was to demand an increase in wages to face the rising cost of living.
The demonstration coincided with the new sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump coming into effect, including a 20-percent levy on the European Union, of which Greece is a member.
Flights to and from Greece were grounded as air traffic controllers joined the strike action, with urban transport also affected.
Ferries serving the Aegean and Ionian islands remained at anchor while schools, courts, banks and public services were shuttered.
The ADEDY civil servants’ confederation hit out at the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“The increase in prices of housing (is) a consequence of the development of anarchical tourism that is characterised by a housing crisis,” it said in a statement.
Alongside the GSEE private trade union body, the two called for mass protests in the late morning in Athens and the northern second city, Thessaloniki.
Demonstrations are also planned in other towns and cities.
ADEDY is demanding an increase in salaries “after 10 years of stagnation”.
Greece saw high economic growth of 2.2 percent last year, but salaries remain low despite rising taxes and inflation that hit 3.5 percent in the middle of last year.
Faced with mounting public anger, the government pushed up the minimum wage from to 880 euros ($972) a month from April 1, a 6.4-percent jump from 830 euros.
