Greek union workers have held a general strike oversoaring living costs, shutting down public services, closing ferries and trains. 

Rising electricity and heating bills were soaring in Greece before the Russia-Ukraine conflict further pushed costs even further, and inflation reached 8 percent in Greece in March, higher than the 7.5 percent in the European Union. 

People are paying the price    

Konstantinos Iordanidis, a spa therapist, gets paid just over 1000 euros ($1089) per month, almost double the national average wage. Still, after living alone for nearly ten years, the high cost of energy, food, and rent meant he had to make a change. 

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"I've been thinking of moving out again on my own, but I just can't. I was getting paid more a few years ago. Actually, it's the same. It's just that now everything has increased.  

"It's difficult. For example in Greece 700 to 750 euros is considered a high salary. The national average is around 550 euros per month. With that money, you literally can't do anything. How can you live alone when the lowest rent in Athens is 300 euros?" Konstantinos said.  

Businesses and households continue to face a massive wave of price increases, with the government struggling to reel them in. 

Memories of the financial crisis 

Kostandina Dimakopoulou, a university student in Athens, compares it to the decade-long financial crisis, starting in 2007-08, that ravaged the Greek economy and triggered a humanitarian crisis.  

"I feel that I have to cut expenses from everywhere. I remember during the financial crisis the feeling in the household, how we had to cut expenses. It's the same feeling now. 

"Sometimes I do jobs here and there, just to earn 40 euros, enough to relieve my family from expenses. Those 40 euros help," said Dimakopoulou.

The surge in consumer prices has been driven by the cost of electricity and fuel, especially gasoline. It's the highest it has been in 40 years. 

Over 40 percent of Greece's energy comes from natural gas imports, making it vulnerable to price hikes.   

The country is still paying debts dating from the 2008 financial crisis, so high inflation is one of the main obstacles to economic recovery.   

In Greece, over the past year, electricity prices increased by over 70 percent, with the cost of natural gas up over 78 percent. The government has been forced to intervene, subsidizing fuel and cutting sales tax for businesses and students.  
 

Greece's center-right prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a financial analyst before stepping into politics, said:

"We are announcing measures for the most vulnerable, but also the middle-class. We have thought it through and will be subsidizing an additional $2 billion with the hope to bring some relief to 3.2 million vulnerable citizens but also households that make less than 32 thousand dollars a year."

Mitsotakis added, "the measures apply to anyone who needs them. We also plan to boost with a grant those with low salaries and with low pensions."