Artists protest outside Greece's parliament during strike that closed theaters, halted TV shoots

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for February 2

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Performing artists and art students ‒ some banging drums, playing trumpets and dressed in clown outfits ‒ gathered outside Greece’s parliament Thursday during a strike that closed theaters, halted TV shoots and disrupted art school classes.

More than 2,000 people took part in the demonstration, on the second day of a 48-hour strike to protest changes in a government labor qualification system used to set wage scales and for civil service recruitment.

"People have spent years on the job, teaching and in performance roles, and suddenly they do not know what their qualifications are worth," singer Argyro Kaparou, who heads one of the associations organizing the protest, told the AP.

GREECE IS REOPENING TOURISM SECTORS IN MAY, SAYS PRIME MINISTER

Art students gather during a protest outside parliament in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 2, 2023. Students are striking for a second day, closing theaters and halting television shoots to protest changes in the qualification system of civil service jobs.  (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Strike organizers say they want the government to pause the reforms until a general election is held sometime before the summer.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The center-right government says it wants to streamline government hiring procedures before the elections.