Greeks strike to avert feared uptick in austerity

By John Carr

Greece’s unionized workers walked off their jobs on Wednesday, in an action which they hope will forestall more austerity measures as the country tries to shake off its bailout programme.

Public transport services were curtailed, schools and banks were closed, and flights in and out of Athens were disrupted for three hours. 

Workers demonstrated in central Athens, but there were few violent incidents.  Similar action is expected on Thursday.

It’s unclear what the strikers, mainly in the public sector, intend to achieve, as almost every commentator in Athens agrees that the nine-year Greek economic crisis is not going to end anytime soon.

The national debt and deficits reportedly remain intractable.