Unions vow strike as Greece finalizes deficit plan (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek unions pledged on Monday to fight austerity measures with a public sector strike this week, the first test of the government’s commitment to cut deficits and a ballooning public debt which has shaken the euro.

Wednesday’s planned 24-hour strike comes as Prime Minister George Papandreou puts the finishing touches to details of a deficit-reduction plan, endorsed by the European Commission last week to pull Greece’s finances back from the brink.

His socialist government has promised to tighten one of Europe’s leakiest tax systems and freeze public sector wages in a bid to slash Greece’s deficit from 12.7 percent in 2009 to below the EU’s 3 percent ceiling by 2012.

[1] http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100208/bs_nm/us_greece_taxes