2-Day Strike In Greece Before Budget Vote

The New York Times reports:

Greeks walked off the job for 48 hours on Tuesday, a day before Parliament is to vote on unpopular austerity measures that are deemed critical to unlocking international financial support.

The rare two-day strike, organized by the country’s two main labor unions, is the second walkout this month and the seventh in a year that has seen public outrage with the Socialist government’s relentless austerity drive grow. Tuesday’s action was the first time Greek unions had walked out for more than 24 hours since democracy was restored in 1974 after the fall of a six-year military dictatorship.

As the strike began, Olli Rehn, the European Union’s top economic and monetary affairs official, warned, “The only way to avoid immediate default is for Parliament to endorse the revised economic program.”

“To those who speculate about other options,” Mr. Rehn added, “let me say this clearly: There is no Plan B to avoid default.”

All public transportation was to halt for two days except the Athens subway, which workers decided to keep running so that protesters could travel to anti-austerity rallies in the city center.