Strike cripples Greece

Athens has been brought to a near standstill

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Riot police have been stationed outside the Greek parliament building as union activists and pensioners protest outside.

The demonstrations in Athens is a part of a national day of action which has seen the country grind to a halt.

Greek unions called the general strike to protest against government plans to reform the pension system.

It is the second time in three weeks that mass action called by the General Workers Union has brought the country to a standstill.

Riot police were deployed two-deep outside the parliament as thousands of demonstrators, including pensioners and young activists, converged on the building.

AUDIO Journalist John Psaroupolis: Riot police are guarding parliament 501kb/46secs. AIFF or WAV sound

Journalist John Psaropoulos told CNN said the Greek pension system was floundering for several reasons such as financial mismanagement and the country only has 4.5 million workers among its 11 million population.

Buses, taxis and the Athens underground railway were not running, turning the capital's normally frenetic streets into relative traffic-free zones.

State television was off the air, and radio news stations broadcast only music, interspersed with taped messages from the journalists' union explaining the reasons for the strike.

Government agencies, schools, banks, hospitals and newspapers were all scheduled to be closed or run on only a skeleton staff.

State-owned Olympic Airways said it would provide just one flight to each destination on its schedule. Ferry boats remained in dock.

Many shops and businesses were expected to close because of striking workers and others unable to get to work.

Brokers expected low volume on the Athens Stock Exchange as a result of the strike.

Psaropoulos said the protest is over pension reform proposals put forward by the government earlier this year which include raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 and lowering some pension payments.

"That is very unpopular because Greece has a very large aging population," he added.

The previous strike, on April 26, brought as many as 150,000 people on to the streets and forced the government to freeze its proposals and call for dialogue.

The government wants to make pension funds viable and reduce liabilities that could otherwise balloon, according to one estimate, to more than 11 percent of GDP over 25 years.

The now-frozen initial plan called for more than 200 pension funds to be merged.

Unions, which see the plans as an attempt to cut back on benefits and increase contributions, are demanding that state funds be used to bail out the system.

The row has taken its toll on the government. One poll last week showed voters placing opposition leader Costas Karamanlis for the first time on a par with Prime Minister Costas Simitis as the best person to run the country