Strikes continue in Greece as parliament prepares to vote on pension reform

Athens: Thousands of Greeks were on strike on Thursday, a day after millions walked off the job in a nationwide general strike that brought the country to a standstill to protest planned pension scheme reforms.

Commuters struggled to get to work in Athens as some forms of public transport including the Athens metro, the suburban railway and the capital's tram ground to a halt.

With television and radio journalists on strike for the second day, many people were unaware of which forms of transport they could use.

Lawyers were on the penultimate day of a five-day walkout, while engineers and teachers stayed away from work for the second day.

Greeks endured more rolling blackouts due to strikes by employees at the country's main power company, while mounds of garbage festered on many streets as municipal workers continued partial work stoppages.

Opinion polls show most Greeks oppose reforms to the fractured and debt-ridden pension system that would unify pension and health funds, raise the effective retirement age for women and working mothers, and create both incentives and disincentives to keep employees working longer.

Unions have been outraged by the plans and have vowed to continue protesting.

A rally was planned for Thursday evening in the capital's main Syntagma Square, which is in front of the parliament building.

Parliament is expected to approve the pension reform plans in three votes scheduled for Thursday. A day earlier, parliament voted "in principle" to approve the reforms by 152 votes.

The governing conservative party has 151 deputies, versus 102 for the opposition Socialists. A far-right party with 10 seats has withdrawn from the debate.

If the plan is passed Thursday, a final procedural vote on the 154-article package will be held next week.

Thursday's strikes followed on from a nationwide general strike - the third since December - that saw everyone from bakers and hospital doctors to air traffic controllers, port workers and hotel employees walk off the job.

An estimated 100,000 people marched through downtown Athens during Wednesday's strike, and riot police clashed with groups of anarchists throwing rocks and firebombs during and after the demonstration. No injuries were reported.

Socialist opposition leader and former Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who joined Wednesday's demonstration, accused the government of eroding "the most basic of pension rights," particularly for women, while offering tax cuts for the rich and benefits for large corporations.

"It's unacceptable. We're fighting and we hope we can win this fight for a much better and much safer Greece," he said.