Greek power workers join strikes

Greece faces possible power cuts as workers at its main generating company strike to protest at plans to privatise, part of the austerity plans aimed at solving debt problems.

Unions said blackouts could occur particularly at peak consumption times during the midday heat as people turn on air conditioning units.

The sell-off of state assets in the power company, known by its acronym DEH, is a major part of a the country’s privatisation plan that must be completed by 2015.

The 48-hour rolling strikes came as Greece’s new finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, met his eurozone colleagues for the second day in Luxembourg.

DEH appealed to people to limit their use of electricity.

Greece has seen near-daily protests against the belt-tightening that has slashed salaries and pensions in an attempt to stem a ballooning national debt.

“We are on strike because, believe it or not, I feel that they – the government and its measures – have taken my smile away, have robbed me of my life as well as my children’s future,” said electrician Giorgos Maleskos. “My only income comes from this job. After 33 years of work, we have got to the point of wondering if we will be able to survive.”

The country’s embattled prime minister, George Papandreou, was also heading to Brussels for meetings with EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Tomorrow Mr Papandreou faces a vital confidence vote in the new government he announced on Friday, when he reshuffled his cabinet amid a major political crisis.