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Journalists walk off job
27/11/2007 12:02 - (SA)
Athens, Greece - Greek journalists went on strike on Tuesday and planned a rally in Athens later in the day as part of a wave of protests over reforming the country's debt-ridden and fractured pension system.
Private and state-run television and radio news bulletins were cancelled for the day, while the content of Greek news websites was not being renewed after 04:00GMT, when the 24-hour strike began.
The strike was also affecting government press offices, which are staffed mainly by journalists, and meant no newspapers would be published on nesday. Only journalists who were covering the strike would be exempt from the walkout, the powerful ESHEA journalists' union said in an announcement.
On Monday, school teachers walked off the job. Journalists will also join a nationwide general strike scheduled for December 12.
Public-sector engineers and doctors at one public hospital said they were also walking off the job for three hours on Tuesday morning.
Labour unions oppose government-proposed measures that include attempts to unify the country's pension funds, of which there are about 170. The funds face estimated future deficits collectively of between 120 billion and 400 billion - sums that are expected to begin affecting the budget within a decade.
Unions fear that the reforms could cut pension benefits in the future and raise retirement ages. A third round of negotiations on pension reform is due to start on Wednesday.
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