Post by ferryfast admin on Dec 12, 2007 13:18:51 GMT -5
Greek Transit System Paralyzed Following General Strike Against Pension Reforms []
12/12/2007 11:02:47 AM Greece's transit system was paralyzed on Wednesday after transport unions joined a 24-hour general strike to protest against a planned overhaul of the state pension system as part of the Greek government's domestic reform program.
All flights in and out of Athens international airport were cancelled after air traffic controllers decided to join the industrial action. Bus and metro networks discontinued their regular schedules after bringing demonstrators into the city center for a parliament march.
Greece, a country that depends heavily on ferry services to commute, could not carry passengers from more than 60 islands, as the ship and boat crew did not turn up for duty on Wednesday.
The nationwide strike on a mass scale, called by the two largest unions that represent about 2.5million workers, poses a serious challenge to Greece's three-month-old conservative government.
The European Commission wants Greece to implement pension reform, which the previous regimes neglected due to strong popular opposition.
The proposed state pension reforms envisage consolidating 170 state-controlled pension funds into eight groups. Once the reforms are implemented, the number of so-called “hazardous” professions that qualify workers for early retirement will be reduced. Under the scheme, workers will be offered incentives to stay on after the age of 65.
The government is committed to implement the reforms immediately, as it anticipates a breakdown of the pay-as-you-go pension system by the middle of next decade because of poor management and an ageing workforce.