Doctors, retirees, teachers, students and public sector workers strike and rally across Greece
On October 21, 2026, Greece saw nationwide strikes, rallies, and marches involving hospital doctors, public-sector workers, teachers, students, and retirees, all demanding higher wages, better working conditions, increased public investment, and measures to tackle the rising cost of living.
The Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Associations of Greece (OENGE) launched a nationwide strike over low pay, staffing shortages, and poor working conditions. They called for double monthly earnings, restoration of lost annual salaries, and permanent recruitment of medical staff.
Pensioners joined the demonstrations, demanding higher pensions and relief from inflation. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) reports that with "the slogan “Give money for healthcare, not for NATO’s slaughterhouses” echoing in front of the Ministry of Health, retirees from Attica demanded truly free healthcare, medical care, the hiring of doctors and nursing staff, and the reopening of nursing and hospital units that have been closed, among other things.Christos Katsotis, a member of the Central Committee and a KKE MP, stood together with the retirees in solidarity."
The Greek Teachers’ Federation (DOE) staged a 24-hour nationwide strike, while secondary teachers (OLME) held work stoppages. Students and school pupils supported these actions, highlighting overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and housing crises.
The Civil Servants’ Confederation (ADEDY) called for a strike from 11 a.m. to the end of the working day to join rallies.
Around 10,000 people marched in Athens from the University of Athens’ Propylaea to the Parliament at noon, with rallies also at the Ministry of Finance for doctors.
The hospital doctor strike rally outside the Ministry of Finance — which the KKE notes was heavily guarded by riot police squads — was part of their 24-hour strike. They demanded free and public healthcare for all, wages that allow for a decent standard of living, and full staffing and state funding for public hospitals. KKE MPs Afroditi Ktena and Giorgos Lambroulis attended the rally.
Similar protests took place in Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa, Crete, and over 50 cities nationwide.
University students had set up tents in Syntagma Square the day before in solidarity.
The protests are part of a wider European wave of unrest, with Greek demonstrators expressing solidarity with similar actions in France over education, housing, and living costs.
Unions and student groups also called for restoration of Greece’s 13th and 14th monthly salaries, which were cut during the so-called debt crisis.
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