Metro trains came to a halt in Athens and ships were docked at ports as thousands of workers protested against rising food and energy prices.
Inflation in Greece has reached multi-year highs as a result of the sanctions against Russia after its February 24 invasion. Power and gas bills have risen.
Police estimate that around 10,000 protestors marched through central Athens, demonstrating against the rising cost of living.
It is extremely difficult, and it becomes more difficult for workers every day. “We will fight it because the working class cannot continue to survive,” Katerina Dekaristou (a teacher) said outside the parliament.
After a decade of financial crises, Greece emerged in 2018 and the pandemic caused global travel disruptions two years later. This has had a devastating effect on the country’s tourism industry.
Since September last year, the conservative government has subsidized power and gas bills to cushion households and businesses at a total cost $4 billion ($4.22 billion).
The minimum wage has been increased to 713 euro per month, the second increase in this year’s budget. However, pay levels remain low in light of rising power bills.
“Everything is rising. The price of electricity, gas, and other necessities has all risen. It’s chaotic. It’s chaotic. We can’t get enough money fast to pay for something else. “We are trying to cut out (not) what is necessary to pay these items,” Pantelis Iordanou said, a car body painter.
Kyriakos, the Greek Prime Minister, has called upon the European Union to take joint action to address the situation. This includes a cap on gas price increases.
Giannis Oikonomou, a government spokesperson, said that no matter what Europe does, the Greek government would announce additional across-the-board measures to reduce the impact on consumers this month.
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