Greece faces fresh strike chaos
ATHENS. February 20. KAZINFORM Greece is braced for its first general strike of the year as workers renew their protest over austerity measures.
The 24-hour strike will disrupt transport, close schools and state-run offices and leave hospitals working with emergency staff.
The strike has been called by Greece's two biggest labour unions, representing half the four million-strong workforce.
It comes days before international lenders are due in Athens to discuss the next instalment of a bailout.
The debt-ridden country is being kept afloat by billions of euros from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund, according to BBC.
In return, the government has imposed waves of unpopular spending cuts and tax rises, hitting pay and pensions and sending unemployment soaring to more than 26%.
Strikes and violent protests have become commonplace.
Greece's coalition government managed to secure the latest tranche of bailout money late last year, and Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras later told the BBC he believed the worst was over for his country.
However, the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says Wednesday's strike is a reminder that government confidence of a slowly improving economic situation is not shared by many on the streets.
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