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Greece was gripped once again by a wave of protests on Tuesday over a draft bill on the labor market reform due to be ratified by the Greek parliament later this evening.

A Greek demonstrator dressed like an industrialist attends a rally in Athens, capital of Greece, Dec. 14, 2010. Labor unions of public servants staged protests over austerity measures introduced by the government to tackle a severe economic crisis in Greece. [Marios Lolos/Xinhua]

Commuters across Athens faced traffic jams throughout the day, as employees in public transport services staged a 24-hour strike over the draft bill which reduces collective agreements between labor unions and employees.

Train services across Greece shut down and flights were rescheduled in a rehearsal ahead of Wednesday's new 24-hour general strike over austerity measures promoted to fight an acute debt crisis.

The labor market reform bill also introduces new 10 percent cutbacks on salaries of public servants earning more than 1,800 euros (2,418 U.S. dollars) per month, aiming to increase revenues for the Greek debt-ridden state.

Public transport employees' anger increased, as the cabinet debated a plan to restructure services of the sector which envisages involuntary staff transfers, merging of companies and raises on tickets.

The Greek socialist government argues that the policies implemented are vital for the rescue of the national economy. Through the implementation of the latest plan to restructure public transport services they expect that deficits in this sector will be reduced from 389 million euros (522.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2010 to 155 million euros (208.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2011.

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