By Renee Maltezou
ATHENS (Reuters) - Flights to and from Greece were grounded, public services and banks shut down and urban transport came to a halt on Tuesday when Greek workers went on strike in protest over the government's economic policy.
Thousands of Greeks marched through central Athens to oppose the 2009 draft budget, which goes to parliament for debate this week. They are also angry at tax collection measures and privatisations of companies, such as Olympic Airlines.
Unions said millions went on strike, while protesters walked to parliament, bringing traffic to a standstill, beating drums and chanting "It will never pass!" Industrialists said they had no figures for the number of people taking part.
"We are protesting because they are not listening to us... The government guarantees the banks but it cut my pension," said Kyriaki Tassioula, 45, a waitress.
The action by private sector umbrella union GSEE and its public sector counterpart ADEDY, which group around half of Greece's workforce, also shut down schools and banks. Hospitals operated with emergency staff and journalists joined the strike, imposing a 24-hour news blackout.
Greece, which accounts for about 2.5 percent of the eurozone economy, is starting to feel the pinch of a slowing global economy. Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis has said Greece is ready to spend 28 billion euros (22 billion pounds) to shield its banks.
"We are here because we have problems and the government ignores us, but politicians are rich and we are poor," said Dimitris Papadogonas, 28, an artist.
Air-traffic controllers stopped work from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. (10 a.m. and 2 p.m. British time), suspending all but emergency flights. Olympic Airlines cancelled 152 flights and its smaller rival Aegean Airlines cancelled 46 domestic flights.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, whose fragile parliamentary four-seat majority has been shaken by scandals, has promised measures to shield consumers from price rises and to compensate workers from privatised companies.
Unionists say the prospect of widespread job losses and government reforms to Greek wage and social security benefits will drag more of the 11 million population into poverty. One in five Greeks lives below the poverty line, earning less than 5,000 euros a year, according to government figures.
"This strike is only the beginning. We won't be the victims again. Enough! This policy will be overturned," ADEDY vice president Kostas Panantoniou said in a speech in Athens.
(Editing by Dominic Evans)
