Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

First Posted: 10/16/2013

(AP) Greece’s largest labor union has called a general strike for Nov. 6, warning that unemployment has reached “nightmare” levels and that working rights are continually eroded by austerity measures.


The GSEE union called the 24-hour protest Wednesday in its latest attempt to halt government cuts imposed as part of Greece’s 240 billion-euro ($325 billion) bailout agreements. The cuts are meant to reduce debt, but have hurt the economy and pushed the jobless rate to nearly 28 percent.


Anticipating the announcement, ferry workers had already called a 24-hour protest for Nov. 6.


Unions have organized over 30 general strikes since the country’s financial crisis broke out four years ago. Greece lost access to bond markets, forcing it to seek emergency loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.


Associated Press