Greece braces for fresh anti-austerity strike [View all]

[another_liberal]

Source: Al Jazeera

Unions in Greece are set to launch another general strike against austerity measures, amid predictions that unemployment in the crisis-hit country will reach 30 percent this year. The planned protest on Wednesday by unions representing private- and public-sector workers is expected to disrupt flights, halt ferries and cripple public services, in a renewed confrontation between labour groups and the conservative-led government over policies aimed at curbing Greece's overspending. State-run schools, most public transport services, and even neighbourhood farmers markets will stop functioning during the strike. In Athens, up to three thousand police officers will be on duty during union-organised street rallies that are due to start at 10:30am (0830GMT).

Greece's largest union, the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), has called for the strike, arguing that the labour force has been too badly weakened to pay emergency taxes. According to union researchers, two-thirds of employees in the hammered private sector no longer receive regular pay. Antonis Samaras, the country’s prime minister, has won praise from bailout lenders for pushing through major cost-cutting measures after forming a three-party coalition last June. But a new round of tax increases this year and a surge in unemployment to 27 percent have angered unions, as Greeks battle a rapid increase in poverty during a fifth year of recession.

In recent weeks, the Samaras government has twice used rare emergency powers to force an end to strikes by workers on ferry services and the Athens subway. A country of nearly 11 million, Greece now has the highest unemployment in the eurozone, with 27 percent out of work, including 60 percent of youths who have left school and are under age 24.

Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/02/20132206394970457.html

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With our own Conservative "Austerity Hawks" constantly demanding more and more cuts to government spending, it might be useful to reflect on what happens to a country once it is truly committed to austerity as a ruling policy. That strategy doesn't end a recession or solve a deficit, it makes a recession or a deficit worse, sometimes much worse.