ATHENS, Greece – Greek workers have walked off their jobs for a 24-hour general strike that is shutting services across the country and suspending ferry services to and from the islands.
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Unions called Thursday’s strike to protest austerity measures that will continue beyond next year’s end of Greece’s third international bailout package.
State-run hospitals were accepting only emergency cases as medical staff joined the strike, while state schools remained shut. Public transport was operating only for certain hours during the day, while airlines rescheduled and cancelled flights as some airport staff joined the labor action with a four-hour work stoppage.
Greece has been dependent on bailouts since 2010. In return for billions of euros in emergency loans, successive governments have had to impose stringent spending cuts, tax hikes and structural reforms.
