Athens was without public transport yesterday as unions staged a 24-hour strike against a government restructuring plan to save money in the face of a deep financial crisis.

Buses, trolleybuses, trams and metro trains were idle, along with most suburban railway services, as the communist union PAME staged a demonstration in the city centre against the plan.

The programme announced in November by Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou aims to reduce the deficit of loss-making state enterprises by €800 million.

In October the government approved the restructuring of the heavily-indebted railways to provide for private companies to run part of the system.

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