Greece civil servants call strike for September 18, 19

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's umbrella trade union for the public sector called on Friday a 48-hour strike for the middle of next month to protest planned civil sector firings and transfers that form part of the country's international bailout. The walkout will take place on September 18 and 19, the ADEDY trade union said in a statement. "We decided to step up the struggle," it said. Under the terms of its international EU/IMF bailout, Greece must place by the end of this year 25,000 public sector workers in a so-called "mobility scheme" under which they will be transferred to other services or fired. The mobility scheme is part of moves to reduce Greece's public sector and make it more efficient. In the same aim, Athens must dismiss by the end of 2014 a total 15,000 public sector workers who are underperforming or have broken the law. (Reporting by Harry Papachristou)