Greek workers will stage a nationwide strike, forcing hospitals to work on emergency staff and disrupting transport, in protest against the "sudden death" of state broadcaster ERT, switched off in the middle of the night by the government.

Greece's two biggest labour unions plan to bring much of the country to a standstill during the 24-hour strike, beginning on Thursday, against Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's decision to close down ERT, which they describe as "coup-like move ... to gag unbiased information".