Greek Guards` Strike Shuts Acropolis For 2nd Day

Striking Greek guards shut the Acropolis monuments to visitors for a second day on Friday in protest at job cuts and delays in pay, their union said.

Since the fatal police shooting of a teenager in December, a wave of protests has damaged the conservative government, which is clinging to a one seat majority and has to deal with a sharply slowing economy after years of robust growth.

"Workers are in despair," said Spyros Samartzis, general secretary of the federation of contractors to the Greek state. "It is unacceptable that people who work for this important monument are not getting paid."

About 15 million people visit Greece and its monuments every year, with tourism being a mainstay of the economy. But due to the riots following the shooting and the global financial crisis, fewer visitors are expected this year.

Millions climb up to the Athens Acropolis every year to visit the Parthenon temple and other masterpieces of Classical Greece.

Culture Ministry officials said the number of guards was cut because fewer were needed in the winter and the delays in pay were due to bureaucratic problems.

Samartzis said the guards would continue to strike if their demands were not met.

"We will intensify our actions if our problems are not solved," he said.

Greece's private sector GSEE union, which represents about 2 million workers in a variety of sectors, has called a nationwide strike on April 2 to protest against job cuts and low salaries.