Protesting farmer from the agricultural region of Thessaly park their tractors in Tempe Vale, central Greece, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Convoys of about 800 tractors arrived at the vital point on the main highway traversing Greece from north to south, as farmers prepared to block highways to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Associated Press
TEMPE, Greece (AP) - Greek farmers used tractors to block a northern highway Wednesday and hundreds more prepared to close other roads to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country.
Ferry crews also launched a two-day strike for the same reason, stopping all services to the Greek islands.
Unions representing practically all sectors of economic activity - including private and public sector workers, lawyers, doctors, farmers and seamen - fiercely oppose the reforms proposed by the radical left-led government.
They say the cutbacks demanded by the country's bailout creditors, combined with further tax hikes, will eradicate more than three quarters of annual income for some professional groups, particularly farmers.
About 300 tractors were parked Wednesday across the northern Egnatia highway near the town of Serres, while a similar protest closed down a key road in the city of Thessaloniki for five hours before heading off to a highway outside town.
Hundreds of farmers drove heavy vehicles towards other key road junctions, which they plan to block in coming days.
Convoys of about 800 tractors were heading through snow-covered countryside from the agricultural region of Thessaly in central Greece to Tempe Vale, a vital point on the main highway traversing Greece from north to south.
"The (new) pension system will triple our contributions, and, with the taxes, the state will end up keeping 85 percent of our income," said farmer Antonis Fasfalis, 45, from the village of Platykambos.
Farmers say the reforms will increase their social security contributions from 6.5 to 27 percent, while income tax will double - going from 13 to 26 percent.
"This year I will pay 4,000 euros ($4,350) in taxes, and next year it will be 10,000 ($10,870) with the new measures," said 60-year-old Constantinos Ougiaros, also from Platykambos.
"There's nothing left to hope for, not even the roadblock protest I'm heading to," he said. "(Authorities) will leave us to tire ourselves out, and then we will leave without having achieved anything."
In the northern town of Komotini, police fired tear gas at farmers who tried to break a cordon and meet the country's agriculture minister.
In the nearby Kilkis region, farmers briefly blocked a highway while hundreds of tractors were parked at the Promahonas border crossing to Bulgaria, which farmers have threatened to close.
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A protesting farmer from the agricultural region of Thessaly lights a cigarette surrounded by parked tractors in Tempe Vale, Greece, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Convoys of about 800 tractors arrived at the vital point on the main highway traversing Greece from north to south as farmers prepared to block highways to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Associated Press
A protesting farmer from the agricultural region of Thessaly passes a row of parked tractors in the Vale of Tempe, Greece, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Convoys of about 800 tractors arrived at the vital point on the main highway traversing Greece from north to south as farmers prepared to block highways to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Associated Press
Protesting farmers from the agricultural region of Thessaly arrive with their tractors in Tempe Vale, Greece, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Convoys of about 800 tractors arrived at the vital point on the main highway traversing Greece from north to south as farmers prepared to block highways to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Associated Press
Protesting farmers park their tractors at Girtoni road junction near Larissa city, central Greece, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Hundreds of farmers are preparing to block highways to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Associated Press
A protesting farmer smokes his cigarette atop his tractor at Girtoni road junction near Larissa city, central Greece, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Hundreds of farmers are preparing to block highways to protest unpopular draft pension reforms that will further cut incomes in the austerity-weary country. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The Associated Press
Passengers make their way in front of an immobilized ferry at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Greek seamen have launched an anti-austerity 48-hour strike that has halted island ferry services, as bailout-reliant Greece is planning to drastically overhaul its troubled pension and social security system, among other reforms demanded by international creditors. (AP Photo/ Yorgos Karahalis)
The Associated Press
A man walks on a promenade as immobilized ferries are seen in the background at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Greek seamen have launched an anti-austerity 48-hour strike that has halted island ferry services, as bailout-reliant Greece is planning to drastically overhaul its troubled pension and social security system, among other reforms demanded by international creditors. (AP Photo/ Yorgos Karahalis)
The Associated Press
Seagulls perch on a rope in front of a moored ferry at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Greek seamen have launched an anti-austerity 48-hour strike that has halted island ferry services, as bailout-reliant Greece is planning to drastically overhaul its troubled pension and social security system, among other reforms demanded by international creditors. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
The Associated Press
A man walks on a promenade as immobilized ferries are seen in the background at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Greek seamen have launched an anti-austerity 48-hour strike that has halted island ferry services, as bailout-reliant Greece is planning to drastically overhaul its troubled pension and social security system, among other reforms demanded by international creditors. (AP Photo/ Yorgos Karahalis)
The Associated Press
A man walks in front of an immobilized ferry at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Greek seamen have launched an anti-austerity 48-hour strike that has halted island ferry services, as bailout-reliant Greece is planning to drastically overhaul its troubled pension and social security system, among other reforms demanded by international creditors. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
The Associated Press