Drivers in for more woes as farmers resume highway blockade

Drivers on the Athens-Thessaloniki national highway are in for more hassle on Tuesday as farmers protesting social security reforms resume their blockade of the Mikrothivon toll station in central Greece.

Vehicles will be diverted onto alternative routes through Almyros, Volos and Farsala for the duration of the six-hour blockade, which will begin at noon. 

This is the second day that farmers are closing off this key junction as well as other parts of the national road network, ports and border crossings in a bid to pressure the government to scrap its planned social security overhaul.

The coordinating committee of the Mikrothivon blockade has also decided to join a protest rally at the port of Volos on Thursday, as part of a general strike that is expected to bring many parts of the country to a standstill.