Greek union members clash with riot police as VIOLENCE ERUPTS at labour reform march

MEMBERS of the Greek Communist labour union have clashed with riot police during a protest over the right to strike and workplace reform.

A new agreement between the SYRIZA-led government and bail-out creditors includes a clause making it more difficult for unions members to withdraw their labour.

The proposals sparked outrage among workers’ groups and opposition parties who demanded the withdrawal of the amendment just hours after they were tabled in parliament.

Furious crowds of demonstrators then forced their way into the Greek Labour Ministry buildiing in central Athens and clashed with riot police outside Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s office.

Police fired tear gas outside Mr Tsipras’s office after protesters forced their way past a cordon and clashed with officers on duty.

At least one police officer was injuured in the clashed and could be seen with blood pouring from a head wound.

The violence erupted after finance ministers from the 19 eurozone countries backed a provisional agreement on the terms of a late-January bailout disbursement.

Labour reforms are highly controversial in cash-strapped Greece where unemployment is running at more than 20 per cent and poverty levels have surged over the past few years since the country first required an international financial rescue in 2010.