Some 300 Greek riot police stormed Athens’ metro depot to break up a sit-in by striking workers, police said.
The raid on the centre, which strikers protesting austerity measures had occupied on Thursday, took place at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT), police told AFP.
Four people were temporarily detained.
The government had ordered a civil mobilisation on Thursday to force the Athens metro staff to halt their strike, which has disrupted traffic in the Greek capital for over a week.
Unions reacted by calling a general transport standstill on Friday.
Hundreds of unionists gathered outside the metro depot after the police raid in support of the strike.
Metro staff oppose government plans to reduce their pay in line with wages in the broader public sector, part of reforms tied to the country’s massive EU-IMF loan bailout.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Thursday: “The Greek people have sustained major sacrifice. I can allow no exceptions.”
The government said strikers had shown contempt for court rulings that had declared the metro strike illegal earlier this week.
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said the strike was hurting the Greek economy, adding in televised remarks: “There have been court rulings on the issue and the law must be applied.”
A leftist party in the ruling coalition Thursday criticised the civil mobilisation, calling it “an extreme option”.
