4 October 2012
Riot police clashed with scores of shipyard workers today who forced their way into the grounds of Greece’s defence ministry in Athens.
The police had to force back the protesters after the leader of the country’s armed forces, General Michalis Costarakos, failed to persuade them to end an attempted blockade of the entrance to the building.
Workers from the Skaramanga Shipyards, which deal mainly with military contacts, say they have not been paid for months. Greece has been gripped by a severe financial crisis since 2009 and the country’s coalition government is preparing a major new austerity package demanded by rescue creditors.
