Day of the Lord - Protests over Sunday shop opening concluded in Athens, Thessaloniki, Greece

 

A rally held by the Private Employees Federation, against the opening of stores on Sundays, was concluded at a downtown Athens location on Sunday afternoon, reports ANA-MPA.

Demonstrators held protests in front of seven big stores that remained open. They blocked entrances with banners and shouted slogans for the stores to close. Most stores in the region, however, remained closed. Similar protests were also held in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

According to the Federation's president, Sunday's strike was successful by at least 95 percent.
Protestors were objecting to a recent government measure allowing shops in the centre of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as in a handful of other mainly tourist destinations in Greece, to remain open on Sundays on a pilot basis. The results of the measure will be evaluated and, if judged successful, it will be extended to all areas of the country.

Opposition to the measure was also expressed by main opposition SYRIZA, which demanded that the government withdraw the measures, and by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).