The umbrella public service union in Greece, ADEDY, has decided to extend today's planned 24-hour strike another day. The strike will become a 48-hour strike and extend through the end of Tuesday, May 4. A separate strike was originally planned for Wednesday as well, with the private sector umbrella union GSEE. The strikes are in protest of the "unprecedentedly harsh and savage" austerity measures taken by the Greek government in light of their immense difficulties with the recession. Some of the measures were just recently mandated by the conditional aid Greece accepted. The agreement requires Greece to raise taxes, implement 'sin taxes,' and cut spending, especially in pensions and civil service pay. Local governments are also protesting today, unhappy with the decision to pare down many local governments.
See "Greek Public Sector Union Extends Strike To 48 Hours From Tues", Alkman Granitsas, The Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2010