Greek journalists stage walkout

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.