Twenty-four hour national strike hits Greece

While many Greek citizens accept painful measures are necessary to lift the country out of the debt crisis that hit in late 2009, the strike, organized by Greece's largest umbrella trade union organizations in the private and public sectors, reflects widespread doubt over the effectiveness of the policies.

The organizers, the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) and the civil servants' union federation, ADEDY, will hold a strike rally at 11 a.m. local time and a march to the parliament building. There will be a separate rally by the Greek Communist Party-affiliated trade union group PAME at 10 a.m..

The strike is expected to paralyze public transport including flights, intercity trains and subways.

All state hospitals and health services will be operating with a skeleton staff due to the strike. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version