A general strike against tough austerity measures is under way in Greece, with trade unions calling for "mass mobilisation" of protesters.
The 24-hour action is expected to severely disrupt public services, including transport and hospitals.
The organisers are demanding an end to spending cuts and tax rises.
The government says the measures are badly needed to lead Greece out of a deep financial crisis and six straight years of recession.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says the policies are part of continuing moves to ensure more bailout money from international creditors.
Cautious optimismThe 24-hour strike officially began at midnight. Trains and ferries are at a standstill, other public transport is disrupted and hospitals are working with reduced staff.
However, many shops will stay open as the labour day public holiday has been moved to next Tuesday - after Orthodox Easter.
"Start Quote
End QuoteThere is a new mood in Europe - it is more fear than panic"
In Athens, hundreds of people rallied outside parliament in Syntagma Square, waving flags and banners.
Pensioner Antonis Mosiadis said politicians should listen to the people.
"The fight continues and it will continue. They have gone deaf over there [in parliament] and if we do not continue this fight, soon they will destroy us," he said.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says it remains to be seen how big Tuesday's rallies will be, as there have been far fewer strikes and protests this year, and there is a feeling the civil unrest is beginning to die down.
Nevertheless, demonstrations are planned across the country, with police on alert for a repeat of past violence.
The two largest unions - GSEE and ADEDY - have said that the action will focus on demands to end austerity.
They say that government measures have led to the country's record unemployment rate of 27%, including almost 60% among young people.
"Our message today is very clear: Enough with these policies which hurt people and make the poor poorer," Ilias Iliopoulos, general secretary of ADEDY, told Reuters news agency.
"The government must take back the austerity measures, people can't take it any more."
Mr Samaras has defended his policies, insisting that this year of recession will be the country's last.
Our correspondent says that more than 20 general strikes have failed to halt the cuts, and the government feels emboldened by the cautious optimism of its international creditors.
Nearly 3bn euros (£2.5bn; $4bn) of bailout money were approved this week, with another 6bn euros set to come on 13 May.
May Day in the world's press
In Bangladesh, the widely-read Daily Star hopes to "galvanise the nation" to demand guaranteed workers' rights. "It takes an incident like the fire at Tazreen Fashion or the collapse of Rana Plaza to shatter our comfort zone and point out just how much remains to be done," it says.
In Egypt, religion takes centre stage on May Day. "Any worker who has the fear of God when he performs his/her work will be greatly rewarded by God," a commentary in Cairo's largest daily Al-Ahram says.
North Korea's Nodong Sinmun bombastically proclaims "there is no limit to the mental power of the working people of the DPRK who are making great leaps forward and innovations after laying the firm foundation for overtaking the world with their own efforts and technology despite the imperialists' persistent moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK".
China's Communist Party paper the China Youth Daily takes a more measured approach, examining how labour laws are neglected by employers. It lists common bad practices such as evading compensation, converting overtime to duty time or pressing female employees to shorten their maternity leave.
Compiled by BBC Monitoring
Since 2010, the European Union and the IMF have promised more than 200bn euros in lending for Greece. Talk of exit from the eurozone has receded.
However, our correspondent says the optimism has not reached the streets, where the mood remains dire given the record unemployment levels.
Other May Day action has been taking place across in the world:
- In central Moscow, at least 70,000 people turned out for a trade union parade backed by the governing United Russia Party, according to police figures
- In Istanbul, police used tear gas and water cannon after protesters defied a ban on May Day demonstrations. Officials say the ban is to protect renovation work taking place at Taksim square, a traditional rallying point
- Protesters demanding the execution of factory bosses over the deaths of hundreds in a recent building collapse in Bangladesh marched in their thousands in the capital, Dhaka
- Rallies have been called in more than 80 cities in Spain
- Thousands of Filipinos marched in Manila demanding the government protect jobs and improve worker contracts
- Cambodian workers rallied in Phnom Penh, calling for higher wages
- Some 55,000 marched in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, protesting at low wages and outsourcing
- Trade unions held demonstrations in Tokyo, with calls for more youth employment one of the main focuses
- In Hong Kong, trade unions said they were expecting 5,000 people to march in support of striking dock workers
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Greeks stage anti-austerity strike
Dengan url
http://worldartikelku.blogspot.com/2013/05/greeks-stage-anti-austerity-strike.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Greeks stage anti-austerity strike
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Greeks stage anti-austerity strike
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar