Doctors at Greek hospitals join strikes
Greek hospital doctors join strikes with three-day walkout
Striking teachers holding anti austerity banners protest in Thessaloniki on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. Thousands of school teachers and other civil servants held an afternoon demonstration to demand a repeal of government plans to axe thousands of public sector jobs. Under government plans, 12,500 public sector employees are to be suspended as part of efforts to trim Greece's bloated public sector and to meet conditions of the country's international bailout. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greek hospital doctors have embarked on a three-day strike, joining high school teachers who walked off the job a day earlier in a week of public sector strikes protesting planned job cuts.
The doctors walked off the job Tuesday, ahead of a two-day civil service strike that is expected to affect public services across the country, including schools, hospitals and some transport systems.
Under government plans, 25,000 public sector employees are to be suspended this year and 15,000 must be fired in the next 15 months as part of efforts to trim the bloated public sector and meet the conditions of Greece's international bailout. The country has been depending on rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other European countries that use the euro currency since May 2010.
