ATHENS — Greek civil servants protesting mass staff cuts took their campaign to the gates of the ancient Acropolis on Friday, after the government announced that 500 workers at the culture ministry would be suspended next month.
State archaeologists gathered in front of the site, but did not block the entrance. Several museums around the country, including the popular Archaeological Museum on the island of Santorini, were closed in protest.
Elsewhere, civil servants continued a second day of work stoppages and held a protest rally in central Athens.
The government has promised its international rescue lenders it will suspend 25,000 public sector workers by the end of the year, with about one-third of them likely to be eventually fired.
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Despina Koutsoumba, head of the Association of Greek Archaeologists at the ministry, said employees were preparing to step up protests. On Friday, Greece’s civil aviation union called a three-day strike for Aug. 9-11, which would close country’s airports to nearly all aircraft.