For Greece, Dec. 12 was a day of no business as usual. A 24-hour general strike of public and private sectors workers
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At least 100,000 workers rallied in Athens to protest the pension reform plan that is a top government priority for Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. In reality, the “reform” amounts to an assault on workers’ retirement benefits.
The work stoppage deeply affected the health, education, banking and media sectors. Rail and ferry services were halted, and domestic and international flights were grounded.
“Workers should not pay for the mistakes and mismanagement of past governments in handling the pension funds,” said Giorgos Skiadotis, who deals with union issues for the Communist Party of Greece.
