Thousands of workers demonstrated in Athens on Thursday to protest austerity measures during a 24-hour nationwide general strike called by Greece's two major labor unions.

About 30,000 members from the umbrella unions of civil servants ADEDY and private sector employees GSEE joined the demonstration.

Protesters said that Greece has been suffering from the bailout deals over the past eight years and expressed discontent for with government plans to toughen strike rules in a draft legislation which was submitted to parliament and swiftly withdrawn.