Business News
Athens traffic snarled by public transport strike
Dec 8, 2010, 9:18 GMT
Athens - Traffic was snarled for hours across Greece on Wednesday as the latest strike called by public transport workers to protest the government's austerity plan forced people to their cars.
The 24-hour stoppage by transport workers affected trams, buses, the underground and trains in Athens and the northern port city of Thessaloniki in a taste of things to come as unions geared up for a national strike on December 15.
In a show of support, many banks will also stop all transactions during a three-hour work stoppage beginning at noon on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, tons of uncollected garbage is piling up in greater Athens after several days of work-to-rule action by staff at the main landfill, which has slowed garbage collection in the region.
Protesters demand the renewal of short-term work contracts for roughly 100 employees.
Athens is implementing a wave of economic reforms as part of a bid to slash public spending in exchange for a 110-billion-euro (150- billion-dollar) rescue package from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Unions are strongly opposed to the austerity measures, which include the scrapping of overtime pay and bonuses, and have for months been organizing strikes and demonstrations.
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