Whilst the government narrowly won support for the budget cuts, tax hikes and labour reforms in a parliamentary vote tens of thousands of union workers gathered near parliament during a nationwide strike that halted public transport, shut schools, banks and government offices, and caused garbage to pile up on streets. Backed by the leftist opposition, unions say the measures will hit the poor and spare the wealthy, while deepening a five-year recession that has wiped out a fifth of the country’s output and driven unemployment to 25 per cent.
English: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Greece+faces+second+general+strike ...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/greek-parliament-approves-drastic-austerity-plan-amid-mass ...
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.