Greeks stage strike against bailout reforms

Demonstrators protest in central Athens during a 24-hour general strike on May 30, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Greece has come to a standstill as people staged a nationwide 24-hour strike against reforms linked to a third and final bailout.

Thousands of people protested in the country on Wednesday to mark the 24-hour strike.

According to police, about 7,500 people were protesting in Athens as flights and urban transport faced disruption due to the strike, which also hit train and ferry services with the busy tourist season in full swing.

Flight controllers also walked out of work for three hours, causing tens of flights to be delayed and several others to be cancelled outright.

A train is pictured at a standstill at the railway station of Thessaloniki in Greece on May 30, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

The Greek government is concluding the final audit of its third multi-million euro bailout package from the European Union, under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund.

A new bill containing the latest reforms dictated by creditors, including the breakup of Greece's state-dominated energy sector, is to be passed by parliament by June 14.

Athens hopes that a scheduled June 21 meeting of eurozone finance ministers will also greenlight the measures.

The bailout is the third since the Greek economic crisis broke out in 2010. Around 50 general strikes have been held since then.

Government promises to accelerate the sale of other state assets have also angered unions.

On Wednesday, the state privatization agency declared the sale of an additional five percent in Balkans telecoms giant OTE to Germany's Deutsche Telekom for over 284 million euros ($331 million). The German firm already held a 40-percent stake in OTE.

The government plans to pump the new money into the country’s economy, giving it a boost to return to full market financing by August after it crashed eight years ago in 2010.

Critics, however, are weary of the spending cuts, claiming that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failed to deliver on his election promise of putting an end to austerity measures.