Athens was hit by an hours-long traffic jam on Wednesday and users of train services nationwide faced idle wagons, as public transport system employees staged another 24-hour strike over austerity measures introduced to tackle an acute debt crisis.

Greek protestors demonstrate against austerity measures as police stand by in Athens on Dec. 8, 2010. Athens was hit by hours-long traffic jam on Wednesday and users of train services nationwide faced idle wagons, as public transport system employees staged another 24-hour strike over austerity measures introduced to tackle an acute debt crisis. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

With buses, the subway and trains shut down, millions of Athenians struggled to reach work by private cars. The problem deteriorated in early afternoon when strikers held a rally in the city center.

Denouncing cutbacks on wages and allowances and the partial privatization of Greek Railways in the framework of efforts to reduce a big budget deficit and return to economic growth, thousands of employees marched in front of the parliament building.

"We will not stop the struggle," chanted demonstrators, vowing to take to the streets again for a mass demonstration on December 15, the day of the ninth nationwide general strike called by labor unions this year.

The Greek socialist government and representatives of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which have provided financially support to Greece to help it cope with the debt crisis argue that the austerity measures are vital for the ailing national economy.

Protesters insist that there is an alternative way from salary cuts and plans to increase the prices of tickets of public transportation up to 50 percent in the following months.

"Low income households cannot afford more burdens," they said, as the Greek National Statistics Authority announced that the inflation rate hit 4.9 percent in November.

It is less than the 5.7 percent reported in September (a record high for Greece since 1997) and the 5.2 percent reported in October, but still the highest rate across the eurozone.

Government officials and independent local analysts attribute the rise to the wave of tax hikes introduced over the past few months to slash the budget gap. They expect that the situation will change, once growth returns.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet