Greek civil servants strike over more job cuts

Greek civil servants have begun a 24-hour nationwide strike to protest against the government’s plans to cuts thousands of more jobs.

Greece’s public sector union ADEDY called the Wednesday action to show opposition against the government’s plans to cut an additional 25,000 positions.

Across the country, Greek public sector workers shut down schools and government sector offices as well as left hospitals on emergency staffing levels.

Thousands of protesters, including striking doctors, teachers and school guards, attended rallies in the capital Athens and other cities to demonstrate against the austerity cuts.

In Athens, cleaning staff laid off by the finance ministry marched towards the parliament holding buckets and mops, while a group of school teachers chained themselves to railings in front of the parliamentary building.

The one-day strike comes ahead of another planned walk-off for March 14 when Greek pharmacists are to protest over cuts to the country’s medical budget.

The government cuts are measures required by Greece’s troika of international creditors — the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund — in order for Greece to receive bailout loans.

Athens has been relying on international rescue loans since 2010. It has received 240 billion euros (330 billion dollars) in international loans.

Greece has been at the epicenter of debt crisis in the Eurozone and has so far experienced seven years of recession.

Last month, the country’s statistics agency revealed that the unemployment rate hit a new record high of 28 percent in November 2013.

The data from the agency also showed that joblessness among Greek youth aged between 15 and 24, remained exceptionally high, reaching 61.4 percent in the same month.