A nationwide general labour strike has been called for Wednesday, May 11 by the country's two largest umbrella union federations in the private and public sector, GSEE and Adedy.

"The strike is the workers' response to the problems faced by the unemployed, the workers and the pensioners who, according to the national plan on the economy, are again the ones who are called to pay the bill," GSEE President Yiannis Panagopoulos stated, announcing the strike.

In addition, Greek journalists are to hold a 24-hour nationwide strike the same day, called by the national journalists' union federation Poesy and its individual member unions. The strike will begin at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday and end on 6:00 a.m. on Thursday. Unions demand regulation for the labour and social insurance rights of those employed in internet media, municipal mass media to continue operating and guarantees for the wages of journalists at the state broadcaster Ert, the ANA-MPA and Depthe.

Athens metro employees will participate with a work-stoppage during the nationwide 24-hour general strike, it was announced on Monday.

The decision to hold a three-hour work stoppage from the beginning of the shift until 8 a.m. was made to facilitate the people's access to downtown Athens, where rallies are scheduled to take place, the metro employees' trade unions announced.

Meanwhile, Otoe, the union representing bank employees, called on its members to participate in the May 11 general strike.

A bank employees' union statement underlined that any discussion on wage cuts is rejected, stressing that it will not remain idle when faced with "an all-out attack targeting the democratic institution of free collective labour bargaining."