Striking workers joined a rally in Athens to protest government plans to deregulate the labour market (Louisa GOULIAMAKI)

Athens (AFP) – Greek workers staged a fresh 24-hour strike Wednesday against government plans to deregulate the labour market, paralysing road and rail transport, closing banks and shutting down news outlets.

Buses and trams stayed in their depots, the Athens metro was shut down and ferries serving islands on both sides of Greece stayed in port. The action also hit rail services, including to Athens airport.

Banks were closed Wednesday and Poesy, the journalists’ union, said there would be no news bulletins over the 24-hour strike period.

The strike caused long traffic jams in Athens as the GSEE, the largest union representing private-sector workers, organised a rally in the city centre to protest the planned legislation. 

It denounced “the suppression of collective conventions” and what it said was an assault on the unions.

This was the second strike in a week against the planned reforms of conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which he argues will open the way to investment and encourage growth of more than two percent.

A strike last week hit transport, hospitals, schools and the courts.

The unions say the proposed reforms will undermine collective agreements and make it harder to organise strikes.

The proposed law would require a more-than 50 percent turn-out of the workforce in any strike vote for it to be valid.

Union leaders have also denounced a law passed in August which they say makes it easier to sack people in the private sector.

Adedy, the federation of public-sector unions, which organised last week’s strike, called on its members to join Wednesday’s action.

Mitsotakis came to power in July, replacing the left-wing government of Alexis Tsipras.

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.