Around 14,000 people braved rainy weather in the center of Athens on Wednesday to demonstrate against a new reform package currently being debated by Greek lawmakers.

Thousands of protesters had been expected to hit the streets ahead of the controversial reform bill the country’s parliament is prepared to vote upon tomorrow.

The proposed legislation has sparked outrage, resulting in a series of work stoppages from public transport employees, seamen, hospital doctors and air traffic controllers.

Greece’s two largest public and private unions, GSEE and ADEDY, also announced a nationwide strike, calling on people “not to let the fourth memorandum pass”. The Greek Communist Party-affiliated union -- PAME -- also joined the demonstration.

Although protests were mainly peaceful, a few minor incidents took place in Athens’ Syntagma Square where a group of anti-austerity protestors threw rocks at riot police. The latter responded with tear gas. 

“They are crashing our lives,” one protestor, Giorgos Kontakos, a 35-year-old businessman, told Anadolu Agency. Kontakos recently opened his own web development business. 

“The contributions we have to pay are beyond our capabilities,” he said, adding: “If you make €1,000 euros ($1,110) almost €700 goes to the tax authority if you have your own business.” 

“They do not make things easier for private businesses, on the contrary they force us to shut down…it is crazy,” he added.

“Greeks should revolt,” said Petros Kikis, 52, who owns a small supermarket a couple of streets from Syntagma Square. 

“We thought things would get better but things are only getting worse; privately owned businesses are shutting down one after the other,” he said.

Recession

The demonstrations come a day after Eurostat data revealed the country had fallen back into recession for the first time since 2012.

Greece’s GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2017, following a drop of 1.2 percent in the final three months of 2016.

It is now the only country in the European Union to have experienced a negative GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2017.

The new bill is expected to be voted upon in parliament late on Thursday. It will bring further pension cuts in 2019 and usher in a tax threshold decrease in 2020.

Pension cuts will range from 9 to 18 percent and the tax-free limit will be reduced by almost 3,000 euros ($3,280) to 5,681 euros ($6,211) of annual income.

If the bill is passed on Thursday, a review will be finalized at a Eurogroup meeting next week and Greece will be able to receive new disbursement funds.