On 6 November Greek unions held a general strike against a new property tax and further expected attacks on jobs and pay. Already the jobs of 25,000 public sector workers are threatened. Their pay will be cut by a quarter, and they will be sacked if they cannot be redeployed within eight months. Flights and other transport were disrupted as well as schools and hospitals. Ferries and suburban rail stations were at a standstill and thousands marched in Athens and Thessaloniki.
There have been more than 30 such stoppages in the past three years. After massive public sector cuts, tax rises and the slashing of pensions the unemployment rate is now 27 per cent. Greeks have been warned to expect worse. Unions warn the country cannot take any more, saying that Greece is being destroyed in an endless nightmare.
Riot police also used tear gas to clear the headquarters of ERT, the former state broadcaster. They arrested workers who had occupied the building and had been broadcasting over the Internet since June, when the government sacked its 2,600 staff and refused to reopen it without a complete restructuring. ■