Greek Govt Faces Union Protest Over Labour Reform

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Athens Tuesday as a general strike paralysed the Greek capital, the first major protest against the conservative government since it took power in July.

Protesters gathered in the rain at Syntagma Square in front of parliament to denounce planned labour reforms. Police put the turnout at around 7,700 people.

The controversial bill includes a measure that would require at least 50 percent support of those present attending a general assembly to launch a strike.

The opposition and unions called a general strike which brought the capital's metro and bus network to a standstill and disrupted hospitals, schools and the courts.

It was the first such action since Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a pro-business conservative, took power on July 7.

"We cannot accept going backward," said Kostas Karachias, union representative at the Agios Savvas hospital in Athens.

"The government wants to do away with collective agreements that the previous leftist government succeeded in establishing," he told AFP.

Dimitris Bratis, vice-president of the main public-sector union, addressed the crowd through a loud-hailer.

"Today, our mobilisation, the first since the election of the new government, allows us to show the government that we are always going to keep mobilising to support workers' rights in the public and private sector," he said.

The strike also extended to ferries to the Greek islands, which were moored at the capital's port of Piraeus and other ports around the country.