Greek police clashed with protesting shipyard workers who stormed the Defence Ministry complex in Athens on Thursday demanding back pay.<br/> <br />About 250 workers from the Hellenic Skaramangas shipyard (HSY) forced their way into the complex by pulling up a metal shutter and stood in the ministry's grounds chanting "We want solutions, not layoffs!".<br/> <br />The head of the army's general staff, General Mihail Kostarakos, came out to address the protesters but was booed and heckled.<br/> <br />Scuffles broke out when police surrounded the workers and used truncheons to beat them back and pepper spray.<br/> <br />Several arrests were made, one man could be seen being dragged away by police as he tried to enter the ministry building.<br/> <br />The workers allege that they have not only had their wages cut but have also not been paid for six months because the near-bankrupt Greek state has not paid the shipyard's owner, Abu Dhabi Mar. The company was not immediately available for comment.<br/> <br />Protests have been picking up in recent days against austerity cuts that Greece has promised its European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders in a bid to get aid to keep afloat.
