Greek doctors, public transport workers on strike

Page last updated at 04:21 GMT, Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 09:21 EST

The Olympian:

All photographs come from the aforementioned news sources, and full copyright ownership is maintained by those sources. This site uses the images purely for reference to the original source and educational purposes, and does not profit in any way from their use.

ATHENS, Greece – Greek doctors, port workers and public transport staff in the country's capital walked off the job Thursday in strikes against deeply unpopular austerity measures that have seen incomes slashed as the country struggles to emerge from a deep financial crisis.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at separate demonstrations, with port workers rallying in Greece's main port of Piraeus and about 500 public hospital workers chanting slogans outside the Health Ministry in central Athens.

One of the demonstrators, Tassos Antonopoulos, a member of the Greek Federation of Public Hospital Workers, said it wasn't just medical staff who were suffering because of the cuts.

"People have less and more expensive options," he said. "It is not possible for the citizens of this country, at a time when they are suffering from this situation and the crisis in the country, to not find the care that they deserve in the public hospitals."

The strikes left Athens without buses, suburban rail and trolleys for the day, while Greek islands will be without ferry services for two days. With doctors and ambulance workers also on strike, public hospitals were functioning with emergency staff only on Thursday.

Read the whole story: The Olympian