Greece's two major umbrella labor federations representing the public and private sector on Thursday called a 48-hour nationwide general strike for June 28 and 29 to coincide with a debate and vote in parliament on the government's Medium-Term fiscal programme and its Implementation Law, which is a condition for disbursement of the 12 billion euros 5th tranche of the 110 billion euro EU-IMF bailout loan to Greece.

According to the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) and the civil servants' umbrella federation ADEDY, the 48-hour strike is an escalation of their recent industrial action comprising 24-hour nationwide strikes in protest of the Medium-Term programme.

A main demonstration will be held on Tuesday, June 28, at the Pedion tou Areos park in central Athens at 11:00 in the morning, while on Wednesday another demonstration will be held in downtown Klafthmonos Square.ana-mpa

A GSEE announcement said the central demands include rejection of the measures contained "in the Mid-Term programme and the Memorandums 1 and 2", and "rejection of austerity, halting the climate of layoffs and rising unemployment, the imposition of respect and implementation of the collective labor agreements, and halting the sell-off of public utilities and state organisations".

ADEDY, in its own announcement, accused the government and the Troika of following a "destructive path" for the workers and society, and called on civil servants to participate in the strike mobilisation in order to obstruct the ratification of the Medium-Term programme and the new anti-popular measures.