Houston Chronicle

Greece

November 27, 2007

Greek journalists went on strike Tuesday and thousands marched through central Athens as part of a wave of protests over reforming the country's debt-ridden and fractured pension system.

Private and state-run television and radio news bulletins were canceled for the day, while the content of Greek news Web sites was not being renewed after 6 a.m., when the 24-hour strike began.

The strike was also affecting government press offices, which are staffed mainly by journalists, and meant no newspapers would be published Wednesday. Only journalists who were covering the strike would be exempt from the walkout, the powerful ESHEA journalists' union said in an announcement. More than 4,000 journalists attended a rally and protest march in Athens.
On Monday, school teachers walked off the job. Journalists will also join a nationwide general strike scheduled for Dec. 12.

Public-sector engineers and doctors at one public hospital said they were also walking off the job for three hours Tuesday morning.

Labor unions oppose government-proposed measures that include attempts to unify the country's pension funds, of which there are about 170. The funds face estimated future deficits collectively of between 120 billion euros and 400 billion euros ($165 billion and $550 billion) _ sums that are expected to begin affecting the budget within a decade.

Unions fear that the reforms could cut pension benefits in the future and raise retirement ages. A third round of negotiations on pension reform is due to start Wednesday.

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