Thousands of people in Athens and other cities protested the rising cost of living on Wednesday, shutting down public services and parts of the transport network as part of a 24-hour general strike.
About 15,000 people marched in the capital, while 4,000 people demonstrated in Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, police said.
The Greek General Confederation of Labor (GSEE) said the strike was against the government’s refusal to take steps to guarantee a dignified life for workers.
“The government must understand that the prosperity of the society depends on the workers,” he added in a statement.
“Urgent action is needed to fight rising prices, unaffordable housing and the persistence of low wages,” said Esther Lynch, secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The ETUC said it was in Greece to support the action.
Boats sailing from the mainland to the Aegean and Ionian Islands were also hit by the strike as members of the PNO Sailors Union joined the action.
Staff of bus, metro and train services, schools, courts and hospitals joined the strike.
Anger is growing in Greece not only over rising food prices but also over housing, especially in Athens, a country where low wages are widespread.
Statistics office Elstat reported that inflation rose to 2.4 percent year-on-year in October.
On Tuesday, the Union of Greek Journalists held its own 24-hour strike demanding new collective agreements. The last is from 2008, before Greece’s devastating financial crisis.
The unions, which have held several strikes since the start of the year, denounce the policies of the current conservative government, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was re-elected last year to a new, four-year mandate.
Mitsotakis recently announced plans to boost people’s purchasing power with a minimum wage, currently 830 euros, and an increase in pensions from January 2025.
