Greece gears up for 1st general strike under new government

Museums, state schools and pharmacies also closed, while state hospitals were functioning with emergency staff.

Tourists and locals trying to fly within Greece will be affected as more than a dozen domestic flights to small regional airports will be cancelled due to civil aviation staff striking.

Almost 25,000 people took part in the event, which was held in three different locations in Athens.

The labor policy division of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party has backed the strike, calling for mass participation.

Greece’s biggest unions, ADEDY and GSEE, are holding marches accusing Tsipras of bowing to creditors and imposing measures that “perpetuate the dark ages for workers”, as the country’s statistical agency released data showing that 1.18 million Greeks, or 24.6 percent of the workforce, remained unemployed in August.

Brief clashes were reported in Athens, as youths broke away from the main protest near parliament.

With a quarter of the work force chronically unemployed and poverty rates at unprecedented record highs in decades, protesters on Thursday said that society can not withstand more strain and alternative solutions need to be found.

Police sources said three people were detained before order was restored.

Strikers will rally in central Athens and march by parliament, close to a hotel where the bailout review talks are taking place.

A key sticking point is over when banks would be able to confiscate homes from owners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments.

Greece’s Syriza government has said it will implement its side of the bargain with lenders, but has long maintained that the bailout terms are excessively harsh.

Syriza grudgingly agreed during the summer to implement the measures in return for a third bailout from its European partners.

A few people opted to work.

Greek police stand guard amid molotov cocktails thrown by protesters during a massive demonstration as part of a 24-hour general strike in Athens on November 12, 2015.

Recession-hit Greeks took to the streets to denounce the fresh wave of spending cuts and tax hikes promoted in exchange for further worldwide loans under the third bailout.

Shopkeepers in central Athens were irate that they should be made to bear the brunt of yet more protests – and appalled that the GSEE, the union representing private-sector workers, was actually backing it.

Greece is negotiating with the global Monetary Fund and European Union creditors, promising policies including rules on foreclosures and overdue taxes more in line with European practice, to obtain a $10.7 billion loan.