Protests in Athens as austerity bill to limit Greece’s strike power
Police fired tear gas in clashes with protesters as strikes halted ferries and disrupted public transport in Greece yesterday.
Unions stepped up protests against a new austerity bill that will limit the right to strike and speed up property foreclosures.
More than 8,000 protesters joined a demonstration in central Athens as strikes disrupted public transport in the capital.
At the end of the rally, police briefly clashed with protesters on the steps of parliament.
No arrests or injuries were reported.
The austerity bill, to be voted on late Monday, is considered to be potentially the final major package of cuts before Greece heads toward the end of the bailout program in August.
Giorgos Perros, a senior member of the Greek Communist Party and a lead organiser of yesterday’s rally, promised to intensify protests ahead of Monday’s vote.
“Let them vote for whatever they like,” he said. “We won’t stop.”
Greece lost the ability of raising money in international bond markets in 2010 amid a collapse in confidence.
However, after years of budget restraint there are hopes the country’s economy is facing a brighter future.
The yield on the country’s ten-year bond has dropped to below 4 per cent – the lowest in more than a decade.
It is a clear sign that investors are more hopeful about Greece’s economic prospects.
Greek government bonds were one of the eurozone’s best performing bond markets last year and have started 2018 on a strong footing.
The fund is at the heart of talks between eurozone members and Greece as the country attempts to exit its bailout programme and reduce its extremely high debt levels.
The two sides reached a preliminary agreement last month, which would cap a slowly strengthening recovery eight years after Greece came close to defaulting on its debt and risked being kicked out of the single currency bloc.
Under the draft law, unions will require a larger number of members present at a strike vote for the protest to be considered legal. Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos described the proposed change as minor.
“This does not affect (umbrella) unions and it does not change the process followed to called strikes,” he said.
More union protests are planned for Monday, including a three-hour work stoppage by air traffic controllers.
The air strike will halt flights between 10am and 1pm GMT.
Public transport and public hospital workers are also planning strikes and stoppages.
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