Greek officials start walkouts over cuts

Date: Thursday 04 Feb 2010

Greek customs and tax officials have begun a 48 hour walkout on Thursday in protest against government austerity measures.

Civil servants and doctors are expected to follow suit on 10 February, while a general strike could take place later this month.

The walkouts came after Greece announced plans to cut its budget deficit below 3% of GDP by the end of 2012.

Under the plan, Greece aims to cut its budget deficit from nearly 13% of GDP. The European Union’s stability and growth pact states that all 16 member of the eurozone must limit their budget deficit to 3% of gross national product while public debt level must not exceed 60%.

Meanwhile, concerns continued to grow over fiscal woes in Portugal and Spain, pushing their five-year sovereign credit default spreads sharply wider.

Both Portugal and Spain are facing huge challenges as they struggle with big deficits.

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