国际英语新闻：Acropolis hill blocked by Greek protestors over austerity measures

ATHENS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Acropolis hill, the most famous archaeological site of Greece, was blocked on Tuesday by Greek employees of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in protest of austerity measures.

Thousands of tourists could not reach the Parthenon temple, as a group of protestors closed the entrance to the hill for one more time this year, requesting an urgent overview of measures implemented by the government to face an acute debt crisis. The hill was also closed down during the high tourist season this summer.

Hundreds of employees on short-term contracts of the Greek Culture and Tourism Ministry face the prospect of lay off on October 31, as their contracts expire, while they still have not been paid wages for up to 22 months.

The socialist government insists on drastic cutbacks on state expenses, so that Greece will exit by 2014 a debt crisis that led the country to the brink of default this spring. But labor unions resist.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but we are not willing to pay for others' mistakes. We demand permanent and steady job positions," said on Tuesday the head of the National Union of Short-Term Workers of the Greek Culture and Tourism Ministry, Nikos Hassomeris.

Furthermore, he warned that the union intends to continue such blockades at the Acropolis hill and other major archaeological sites across Greece over the following days.

Besides protestors in front of the Parthenon, on Wednesday the Greek railway services were also disrupted, as employees in the public transportation sector held one more strike over a bill to overhaul the sector and partially privatize loss- making Greek Railways.

The government reassures that approximately 6,000 civil servants working at Greek Railways will not be laid off, but will be transferred to other public utility agencies, but labor unions argue that workers' rights will be hit.

Thousands of commuters are expected to suffer from the mobilization in Greek Railways also on Thursday.