Flights grounded, transport halted in Greek general strike

(13 Feb 2008) 1. Wide exterior of parliament building 2. Various of Metro entrances on Constitution Square 3. Various of commuter at Metro entrance UPSOUND: Shouting into empty station 4. Various of Metro entrance gate 5. Various of empty bus stop 6. Wide of taxis lining up for waiting commuters 7. Pan of various Greek newspapers 8. Close-up of newspaper headline reading: (Greek) "Pension Fund: General strike with one common voice saying 'it will not pass.'" 9. SOUNDBITE: (Greek) Natalia, commuter, vox pop: "Of course it has created problems, as I did not go to work this morning. I could not go to work. And this always happens." 10. Exterior of building with banner reading: (Greek) "No to the merger." 11. SOUNDBITE: (Greek) Dimitri Papageorgiou, commuter, vox pop: "They need to find other ways to deal with their problems." 12. Various of police preparing for march 13. Wide exterior of closed post office 14. People looking in window of closed post office 15. Sign on door of post office reading: (Greek) "We're on strike." 16. Wide of empty tram stop 17. Close-up of empty information screen at tram stop STORYLINE: Flights were grounded, schools and courts were shut and hospitals were accepting only emergency cases on Wednesday as a 24-hour general strike shut down public services across Greece to protest planned pension scheme reforms. Air traffic controllers joined the second general strike in about two months forcing authorities to cancel all flights to and from Greek airports. Buses, trains and the Athens metro were running only for a few hours during the day. Dentists, lawyers, construction workers and civil servants also walked off the job. Journalists went on strike, forcing television and radio stations to cancel all news bulletins and current affairs programs for the day. "Of course it has created problems, as I did not go to work this morning. I could not go to work. And this always happens," said Natalia, a frustrated commuter. Greece's two main labour unions called on Wednesday's general strike to protest the conservative government's efforts to reform Greece's debt-ridden and fractured pension system. Unions claim the reforms will lead to lower pensions and higher retirement ages. Greece has roughly 170 separate pension funds, which collectively face estimated future deficits of between 165 (b) billion and 550 (b) billion US dollars, sums that are expected to affect the budget within a decade. Two demonstrations were planned for later on Wednesday morning in central Athens. "They need to find other ways to deal with their problems," commuter Dimitri Papageorgiou told AP Television, when asked if the planned demonstration marches would create problems. During the last general strike in mid-December, brief clashes broke out between youths and riot police as tens of thousands of strikers demonstrated in the centre of the capital. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...