ATHENS, Greece, March 21 (UPI) -- The Greek Parliament passed a conservative pension reform bill after weeks of strikes that crippled the country, national media reported.
The 300-seat body voted 151 in favor, with 136 abstentions and 13 opposed Thursday as some 100,000 protesters clashed with police in Athens, the Kathimerini news agency reported.
The bill shepherded by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis merges more than 150 pension investment funds into about 13. Opposition members won a concession amendment that allows anyone completing 37 years of work to retire on a full pension, the report said.
For several weeks, rotating strikes by various unions threw living and commerce into turmoil, from a stock exchange shutdown to port and rail closures and no garbage collection.
The news agency said garbage workers were to resume collections after a 16-day strike, although it was expected to take a week to catch up.
