Greece's largest public sector union called a 24- hour strike for March 16 to protest a wave of new austerity measures planned the government in a bid to solve the country's debt crisis, dpa reported. The new measures, which are expected to be announced on Wednesday, follow the visit of EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, who called on Greece to do more to reign in a budget deficit that has shaken the confidence in the eurozone. "It is now up to the government what additional measures it will take," Rehn said during his visit to Athens on Monday. "I trust that the additional measures will meet the deficit targets in order to regain credibility." Unions said they will hold a 24-hour strike on March 16 and a four-hour work stoppage March 8. The strike announcement came as taxi drivers abandoned their vehicles Tuesday against new tax measures. Even Greece's tax inspectors have decided to take industrial action against the government's attempts to fix its finances, calling a 48-hour strike next week. Athens came under fire from member EU states when it revealed in October that its deficit would be 12.7 per cent of GDP in 2009, over four times the eurozone's 3 per cent limit. Greece's ballooning budget deficit and its problems in reigning it in have shaken faith in the strength of the euro, with EU partners fearing that the unstable market will spread to other eurozone members that have big deficits, such as Spain and Portugal. The crisis has increased the price at which the country can borrow money because international markets are worried about whether it can pay back its debts.
