Greek unionists plan strikes

(ATHENS) - Greece's largest union said Wednesday it would hold a general strike on February 24 in response to austerity cuts ordered by the government to save the country's crisis-hit economy.

"We will hold a general strike on February 24," the spokesman of the General Confederation of Greek Workers, Stathis Anestis, told AFP.

"We will table a relevant proposal to the union's executive committee on Thursday," he said.

Greece's second main union ADEDY, which represents civil servants, on Wednesday also confirmed plans to hold a separate strike on February 10.

"The measures announced (by the government) confirm our predictions," ADEDY chairman Spyros Papaspyros said in a statement.

"These measures will not be the last to be taken," he warned.

The smaller Communist-backed PAME union is also participating in next week's industrial action.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday ordered a public salary freeze, a higher retirement age and a hike in petrol prices, supplementing a crisis plan unveiled last month to reassure the international financial community.

Greece's debt stands at more than 294 billion euros (412 billion dollars), its deficit is over four times the EU limit of three percent of output for eurozone members, and it suffered a triple downgrade of its sovereign debt in December.

Earlier on Wednesday, the European Union approved Greek efforts to tame the debt crisis but placed Athens under surveillance measures.

The decision to place Greece under a permanent system of surveillance while it monitors the reform plans was a first for the EU, which also rapped Athens over faulty budgetary data.