Greeks From All Walks Of Life Unite Against Austerity Measures

The debt-ridden government promised to cut pension funds and raise tax rates in exchange for international bailout funds.
LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images

Farmers in tractors, lawyers in ties, engineers in hard hats and hundreds of other workers across industries united in massive protests around Greece this week.

On Wednesday and Thursday, people demonstrated against the Syriza government's long list of proposed economic reforms that included cutting pension costs, and raising tax rates and social security contributions. The debt-ridden government had promised to institute the reforms in exchange for 86 billion euros ($93 billion) in bailout funds from the Eurozone.

The tax increases could take away over three-quarters of some workers' incomes, the Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday, farmers used hundreds of tractors to block key roads and highways, including one that links the Greece’s north to its south. And in the northeastern city of Komotini, police fired tear gas at farmers who had barricaded the office of Vangelis Apostolou, the country’s agricultural minister.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to meet many several world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, for further discussions on Greece’s economic progress. These leaders include International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.

Take a look at the protests in the photos below:

LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Lawyers wave their ties in Athens.
LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Engineers and other workers rally in Athens.
LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Protesters chant slogans in Athens.
SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images
A woman walks in between tractors blocking a street in Thessaloniki on Jan. 20, 2016.
SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images
Tractors block the roads in Thessaloniki.

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