Public and private sector workers in Greece downed tools on Nov. 20 for a 24-hour general strike, with marches set to take place throughout central Athens.
Services across the Mediterranean nation have been hampered, with public transport in the capital suspended for several hours and ferries connecting the country’s numerous islands to the mainland left in port.
Doctors, nurses, teachers, and construction workers are among those walking out in protest over the high cost of living.
Journalists across Greece participated in a 24-hour sympathy strike on Nov. 19, pulling all news broadcasts off-air the day before so they could cover the general strike on Nov. 20.
Greek labor unions called the industrial action to demand collective wage agreements that were scaled back during the nation’s infamous financial crisis, which began in 2009 and financially crippled the country for almost a decade.
Pay and pensions were cut for millions of Greeks in return for international bailouts to the tune of 280 billion euros ($297 billion) during the crisis, which very nearly forced the country out of the eurozone after its economy shrank by 25 percent.
With the Greek economy on a positive trajectory since 2018, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has raised the minimum monthly gross wage four times since taking power in 2019, to 830 euros a month. He has promised to raise it to 950 euros by 2027.
But according to the unions, the raises are not enough, and salaries—which still lag behind the European average—are not rising as fast as energy, food, and housing costs.
“Prices and rents have skyrocketed, while wages are at a low point,” read the poster of Greece’s largest private sector union, GSEE, as it called for large and immediate pay increases to cope with what it described as an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis.
GSEE, which represents about 2.5 million Greek workers, also asked for government action against the “oligopolies” it said were engaging in “concerted practices” that were driving up the costs of basic goods.
Unions have also lambasted the government for failing to tackle inflation and housing prices, which have put an extra strain on Greek wallets.
The financial crisis came after decades of runaway public spending cut Greece off from international bond markets.
The multiple bailouts came with conditions from the international lenders that Athens implement reforms, including pension and wage cuts.
These proved deeply unpopular with the electorate, even before poverty and unemployment rates spiraled in the darkest days of the Hellenic financial crises.
Though the country now has healthy economic growth and recently regained investment-grade status, it still has the highest ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) in the European Union.
Mitsotakis has acknowledged that there is room for improvement regarding wages and GDP.
He has also once again asked the EU to help him address the discrepancies between Greece’s power prices and those of other nations in the union, which he says are further straining living standards.
The general strike was called on the same day that the government submitted its final draft budget for next year to the 300-seat Parliament for debate before a vote in December.
The draft 2025 budget foresees economic growth of 2.3 percent next year and higher tax revenues due to expanding digital payments, booming property sales, and large tourism revenues, according to the Greek Fiscal Council.
In the nine months before September, the nation recorded a current account deficit of 7.66 billion euros ($8.05 billion), up from a deficit of 6.62 billion euros ($6.96 billion) in the same period last year, as imports continue to outpace exports, central bank data show.
