Greek labour unions to take to streets to protest austerity

Labour unions are expected to take to the streets of the Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Saturday to protest ongoing austerity measures that the governmment has imposed as part of an international bailout, according to dpa.
The demonstration by the country's largest private and public sector unions, GSEE and ADEDY, is scheduled to coincide with the launch of the International Trade Fair, where Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will lay out the government's plans for the year ahead.
Greek authorities have announced that that they have banned demonstrations in many parts of Thessaloniki. But labour unions and left-wing groups have said the protests will go ahead outside the prohibited areas near the site of the fair.
Samaras is expected to announce a series of tax breaks - including
reductions to a levy on heating oil - as well as a long-term growth
plan in a bid to win over austerity-weary citizens and boost low
approval ratings of his coalition government.
He is also likely to unveil changes to a new single property tax
which has sparked public outrage as homeowners face large bills,
according to the Greek daily Kathimerini newspaper.
But the measures are being presented without the final seal of approval by European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
creditors, the newspaper added.
The Greek government carried out a new round of meetings with EU and
IMF creditors in Paris earlier this week, with negotations under the existing adjustment programme set to continue in the Greek capital later this month.
On Friday, some 2,000 police officers, firefighters and coast guard workers demonstrationed against pay cuts and goverment plans to merge their pension funds under an overhaul of the pension system.
Greece has been granted more than 240-billion-euros
(310-billion-dollars) in bailout loans by the EU and IMF since 2010.