Thousands in Greece strike to protest soaring living costs
Al Jazeera
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Athens and other Greek cities as a 24-hour general strike to protest against the rising cost of living shut down public services and part of Greece’s transport network.
About 15,000 people marched in the capital on Wednesday while another 4,000 demonstrated in Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, police said.
The Greek General Confederation of Labour said the strike was a “riposte to the government’s refusal to take measures to guarantee a decent life for workers”.
“The government has to understand that the prosperity of society depends on that of the workers,” it said in a statement.
“Urgent action is needed to fight the surge in prices, unaffordable housing and the persistence of low wages,” said Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). She was in Greece to back the action, the ETUC said.
