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Greek unions strike as bailouts to end with austerity blitz

Protesters march during an anti-austerity demonstration, organised by the Communist Party-affiliated PAME labor union in central Athens during a 24-hour strike, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. 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. Unions called Thursday's strike to protest austerity measures that will continue beyond next year's end of Greece's third international bailout package. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) The Associated Press

People gather for a rally in central Athens during a 24-hour strike, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. 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. Unions called Thursday's strike to protest austerity measures that will continue beyond next year's end of Greece's third international bailout package. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) The Associated Press

Pedestrians pass in front of parked trains at the central railway station during a 24-hour strike in Athens, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. Greece's largest labor unions call for a general strike over planned austerity cuts in 2018-19 as unemployment remains over 20 percent and poverty levels have surged over the past few years since the country first required an international financial rescue in 2010. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) The Associated Press

Trains sit at the central railway station during a 24-hour strike in Athens, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. Greece's largest labor unions call for a general strike over planned austerity cuts in 2018-19 as unemployment remains over 20 percent and poverty levels have surged over the past few years since the country first required an international financial rescue in 2010. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) The Associated Press

A train sits at the central railway station during a 24-hour strike in Athens, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. Greece's largest labor unions called for a general strike over planned austerity cuts in 2018-19 as unemployment remains over 20 percent and poverty levels have surged over the past few years since the country first required an international financial rescue in 2010. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) The Associated Press

A man walks in front of a docked ferry at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, during a 24-hour strike, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. 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. Unions called Thursday's strike to protest austerity measures that will continue beyond next year's end of Greece's third international bailout package. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) The Associated Press

A protester from the Public Power Corporation union, marches during an anti-austerity demonstration, in central Athens during a 24-hour strike, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. 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. Unions called Thursday's strike to protest austerity measures that will continue beyond next year's end of Greece's third international bailout package. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) The Associated Press

Protesters march during an anti-austerity demonstration, in central Athens during a 24-hour strike, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. 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. Unions called Thursday's strike to protest austerity measures that will continue beyond next year's end of Greece's third international bailout package. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) The Associated Press

Posted December 14, 2017 6:00 am

By ELENA BECATOROS and DEREK GATOPOULOS

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's workers walked off the job for a 24-hour general strike Thursday, as the country prepares to stop relying on European rescue loans but continues to pile more austerity measures on hard-hit taxpayers.

The strike halted ferry services to the islands, closed state schools, and left public hospitals accepting only emergency cases.

Airlines rescheduled and cancelled flights as some airport staff joined the labor action with a four-hour work stoppage, and public transport was operating only for certain hours during the day.

Thousands of people gathered in Athens for anti-government protests, while demonstrations were planned in more than 50 cities and towns across the country.

"The government is doing a dirty job at the expense of the Greek people," said Greek Communist Party leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas, speaking at the main morning rally in central Athens, which was attended by more than 16,000 people, according to police estimates.

Greece has depended on international bailouts since 2010 but must return to bond markets next year when its third consecutive rescue program runs out in August.

The government's borrowing rates have tumbled, and the country is on course to achieve modest economic growth in 2017. But poverty rates continue to worsen after years of cuts.

Household incomes have fallen by about a third since the crisis started in 2009, according to World Bank data, and inequality has risen due to high long-term unemployment.

Roughly half the country's taxpayers are behind on payments, with several hundred thousand facing the threat of asset seizures.

Thursday's protest was triggered by a government plan to toughen strike rules in draft legislation submitted to parliament and swiftly withdrawn.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' left-led coalition government has also promised to help banks clear a mountain of bad loans, speeding up auctions of homes in mortgage default.

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Follow Becatoros at http://www.twitter.com/ElenaBec and Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos

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