Greek general strike brings country to a halt

Striking workers brought Greece to a standstill on Dec. 13 and tens of thousands marched through the streets of Athens to protest against the government's pension reform plans. An estimated 40,000 Greek protesters joined the rally, the biggest in the past three years, shouting slogans against the newly elected conservative government as thousands of police in riot gear stood guard. Flights were grounded and urban transport came to a halt after the 24-hour strike began at midnight. Ferries were stopped across the Aegean islands, public services were closed and hospitals worked with emergency staff. "Participation is almost total. There is overwhelming outrage and condemnation at the government's policies," said spokesman Efstathios Anestis of the private sector umbrella union GSEE. GSEE and its public sector sister ADEDY, which jointly represent more than 2.5 million workers, have rejected repeated calls from the government to attend talks on pension reforms and have staged several rallies instead. Like other EU countries with ageing populations, Greece is struggling to reform its pension system before it collapses. Experts say Greece's fragmented social security system, which runs actuarial deficits twice the country's $200 billion euro annual economic output, is expected to collapse in 15 years if no measures are taken. "We are here for our children, for their pensions. I hope the government will wake up. We want them to give us back the money they robbed from us," said protester Angelos Panagopoulos, 47, holding his 10-year-old son by his hand. The protesters marched to parliament carrying a coffin with a sign reading "Social Security." They chanted anti-government slogans and waved banners saying: "The dialogue is a fraud." The government won a second term in office in September pledging no pension rights would be affected. But shortly after winning, it proposed measures to encourage workers to stay in work beyond the age of 65 and a review of pensions for women and disabled workers. "We are here because we want to get our pensions before we die," said protester Kali Dinopoulou, 44, a civil servant. "You can't live like this." Air traffic controllers said all domestic and international flights were cancelled, and only military, medical or government aircrafts were allowed to take off or land at Athens airport.