Greece faces key austerity vote, more strikes

By Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander

ATHENS (Reuters) - Angry protesters vowed to bring Greece to a standstill on the second day of a general strike on Thursday while disgruntled lawmakers vote on the details of a deeply unpopular austerity package needed to stave off bankruptcy.

Parliament is expected to give a final green light late in the day to the belt-tightening plan required by the EU and the IMF, after backing it in principle in a first reading on Wednesday despite the country's biggest labor action in years.

But some ruling party MPs have warned they may vote against one of the bill's most controversial provisions, threatening to weaken the beleaguered government's narrow majority as it battles a debt crisis that is shaking global markets.

Thousands of police will be deployed through central Athens after black-clad youth clashed with riot police on Wednesday, pelting them with petrol bombs and chunks of marble during an anti-austerity march that drew more than 100,000 protesters.

Ships will be docked, ministries and schools shut and hospitals will work on skeleton staff in the second day of a 48-hour strike against plans to pile more taxes on austerity-hit Greeks and put tens of thousands of state workers on the road to redundancy.

"The protests will shake the government again, they will feel like an earthquake," said Ilias Iliopoulos, secretary general of public union ADEDY.

Protesters are set to rally in front of parliament from 0800 GMT (4 a.m. ET) and will try to stay on the square till late at night, while lawmakers vote on the bill.

Analysts expect the protests to continue unabated as Greeks of all walks of life have become increasingly angry at measures they feel only hurt the poorest while tax evaders and corrupt politicians remain unaffected.