ATHENS, Greece - Public services ground to a halt in Greece on Thursday as
unions launched a 24-hour general strike in protest over the
government's decision to shut down public broadcaster ERT as part of
sweeping cost-cutting measures.
Trains and ferries stood still,
hospitals were operating on emergency footing and government offices
were shut across the country as part of the action.
Air traffic controllers were due to participate in a two-hour work
stoppage starting from 1200 GMT and no newspapers were published, with
journalists on an indefinite strike because of the government's shock
move.
The socialist and moderate leftist parties supporting the
coalition government had called the decision on ERT "unacceptable" and a
government source said late Wednesday that Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras would confer over the issue with his coalition partners.
"The prime minister, who always seeks dialogue, will telephone the
political leaders for a meeting in the coming days," the government
source said.
Samaras had defended the closure, saying earlier on
Wednesday: "We are eliminating a hotbed of opacity and waste... We are
protecting the public interest."
The broadcaster's television and
radio stations were abruptly pulled off air late Tuesday and its nearly
2,700 staff suspended as part of the conservative-led coalition
government's deeply unpopular austerity drive.
Source: The Economic Times
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