Greeks Start Two-Day Strikes To Protest Austerity

Greeks Start Two-Day Strikes To Protest Austerity

Greeks are preparing for a 48-hour strike on Tuesday to protest the new austerity which is set to be approved by Parliament tomorrow to guarantee the disbursement of the next installment worth more than 31 billion euros needed massively to avoid bankruptcy.

The protests called by Greece's two biggest labor organizations want to show their rejection to the sharp spending cuts, which includes cutting pensions by a quarter for some and scrapping holiday bonuses, as they see that such a measures would will weigh on poor people and keep the economy in recession for several years.

Schools, banks and local government offices will be shut down while only hospitals will be open for emergencies.

Yesterday, PM Antonis Samaras warned of a possible catastrophe if the Parliament failed to pass the measures as the debt-wracked ecnomy may end up leaving the euro area.