Public transport workers in the Greek capital walked off the job today in a 24-hour strike, causing traffic jams around Athens, while a doctors’ strike has left hospitals functioning with emergency staff.

Striking subway workers in Athens have returned to work, hours after the Greek government used riot police to clear strikers from a train depot, ending a bitter stand-off over new austerity measures.

About 15,000 protesters converged on the Greek capital’s main square outside Parliament tonight, ahead of a vote by MPs on the 2013 budget which would once more cut pensions and salaries so Greece can qualify for its next vital batch of rescue loans.

Athens transport unions were today staging a new strike against planned public sector reforms, leading to queues on the Greek capital’s streets as commuters instead travel to work by car or taxi.