Unions call nationwide strike 27 November

It will be the first general strike in the country in seven months. The nationwide walkout by private sector union GSEE and its public sector counterpart ADEDY is expected to coincide with a visit by European Union and International Monetary Fund inspectors to Athens.

Major protests and strikes have declined sharply in recent months, as anger and frustration over austerity cuts gives way to a mood of despondency and resignation. The two unions last held a general strike in April.

"There is no light at the end of the tunnel for workers and the unemployed," GSEE's general secretary Nikos Kioutsoukis told Reuters. "We are sending a message to the government, the EU and the IMF: Greek people cannot take it anymore."

Greece's six-year recession, exacerbated by severe wage and pension cuts, has wiped out about a quarter of the economy and sent unemployment steadily over 26%.