By Renee Maltezou
ATHENS (Reuters) - Millions of Greeks took part in a24-hour nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest againstplanned pension reforms, grounding flights, confining ships toport and closing schools, ministries and banks, unions said.
Thousands marched through central Athens, beating drums andchanting slogans such as "The bill is a fraud", to protestagainst reforms which they say will hurt benefits.
"The participation in the strike is total. We are talkingabout millions," said Spyros Papaspyros, president of the civilservants umbrella union ADEDY, one of the strike organisers."The government must not underestimate this public outrage."
The conservative government did not immediately comment onthe turnout. ADEDY and its private sector sister GSEE representabout 2.5 million members.
Legislation that aims to overhaul the ailing socialsecurity system, which experts say is destined to collapse in15 years if left unchanged, goes to parliament for a final voteon Thursday.
"We will not weigh the political cost when called to comethrough with the pension reform we promised the Greek people,"Labour Minister Fani Palli Petralia told parliament. "We cannotpostpone or push (it) back -- the problem is here."
The government, re-elected in September on pledges not tocurtail pension rights, needs the backing of all its 151deputies in the 300-seat assembly to pass the bill.
Unions say Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has not kepthis word and that reforms limit workers' benefits withoutimproving the system.
"Today we dump the bill in the landfill," GSSEvice-president Alekos Kalyvis told a mass rally in centralAthens. "Mr. Karamanlis's nose is growing like Pinocchio's. Hehas gone back on all that he pledged before the elections."
CRIPPLING STRIKES
Protests in recent weeks have caused blackouts, leftmountains of rubbish in the street, disrupted transport andservices, and halted trading on financial markets for days.
At least 150 flights could be cancelled on Wednesday andmany more delayed because air traffic controllers were takingpart in the strike.
Monuments and the Athens Acropolis closed early because ofa walkout by guards planned for noon. Schools, ministries andbanks were closed.
"This bill will hurt all of us but especially women. Wewant it withdrawn," said student Irini Koubi, 21, beating adrum while marching with about 10,000 others to parliament.
The reform bill affects mostly women, and especiallyworking mothers, who until now could retire earlier and in somecases with full benefits. It merges scores of funds into just13, offers incentives for workers to stay at work longer andcuts many special pensions.
Greece is one of several European Union countries facing apension crisis due to an ageing population and has been urgedby Brussels to revamp a fragmented, wasteful and mismanagedsocial security system urgently.
France and Italy are also facing labour and oppositionparty reaction to efforts to increase retirement ages and trimbenefits as part of overhauling their own pension systems.
Experts say that if the Greek system is left unchanged, thepension funds actuarial deficits could reach 400 billion euros(314.4 billion pounds), almost twice the country's GDP.
(Writing by Dina Kyriakidou; Editing by Charles Dick)
