Greece was hit with a news blackout yesterday as the country’s journalists walked off the job over a controversial pension reform, a day before a general strike on the same issue.
The 24-hour labour action is directed against government plans to lower the maximum pension to €2,300 ($2,500) a month from €2,700 currently and introduce a new minimum guaranteed basic pension of €384.
The leftist administration of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also wants to merge pension funds and increase social security contributions by both employers and staff.
The plan has been criticised by a wide array of professional classes, from lawyers and engineers to sailors and farmers, and Greek unions have called a general strike – the third in as many months – for today.
A protesting journalist holds placards during a demonstration against planned pension reforms in front of the parliament building in Athens. The placards read ‘Hands off the pension funds’ and ‘No pension and wage cuts’.
