(MENAFN- Gulf Times) More than 2,000 police, coastguards and firefighters took to the streets of cash-strapped Athens yesterday in protest at pension reforms as the country reeled from a paralysing general strike, according to AFP.
The demonstration came a day after the start of the shut-down that brought 50,000 people out in protest against controversial economic reform measures.
"We protect society. The state betrays us," read banners brandished by some of the protesters, including uniformed officers, yesterday.
Another protester shouted: "Alexis, why do you kill your people?"
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is planning a fiscal overhaul following a series of massive bailouts the country accepted from its European creditors.
Greece must save ‚¬1.8bn from state spending on pensions under a three-year bailout signed with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in July.
The demonstrators are furious at government plans to lower the maximum pension to ‚¬2,300 ($2,500) per month from ‚¬2,700 and introduce a new minimum guaranteed basic pension of ‚¬384.
Tsipras's leftist administration also wants to merge pension funds and increase social security contributions by both employers and staff.
Critics say that the new system penalises those who dutifully pay their pension contributions over a lifetime of work and will encourage undeclared employment.
during a protest rally in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens.
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