ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Performing artists and art students -- some banging drums, playing trumpets and dressed in clown outfits -- gathered outside Greece's parliament Thursday during a strike that closed theaters, halted TV shoots and disrupted art school classes.
More than 2,000 people took part in the demonstration, on the second day of a 48-hour strike to protest changes in a government labor qualification system used to set wage scales and for civil service recruitment.
"People have spent years on the job, teaching and in performance roles, and suddenly they do not know what their qualifications are worth," singer Argyro Kaparou, who heads one of the associations organizing the protest, told the AP.
Strike organizers said they want the government to pause the reforms until a general election is held sometime before the summer.
The center-right government said it wants to streamline government hiring procedures before the elections.
A man holds a banner as students from drama and arts schools shout slogans during a protest outside parliament in Athens, Greece on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Performing artists and arts students are striking for a second day, closing theatres, halting television shoots and disrupting art school classes, to protest charges in the qualification system of civil service jobs. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Students from drama and arts schools gather during a protest outside parliament in Athens, Greece on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Performing artists and arts students are striking for a second day, closing theatres, halting television shoots and disrupting art school classes, to protest charges in the qualification system of civil service jobs. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Protesters gather during a rally outside parliament in Athens, Greece on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Performing artists and arts students are striking for a second day, closing theatres, halting television shoots and disrupting art school classes, to protest charges in the qualification system of civil service jobs. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Students from drama and arts schools shout slogans during a protest outside parliament in Athens, Greece on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Performing artists and arts students are striking for a second day, closing theatres, halting television shoots and disrupting art school classes, to protest charges in the qualification system of civil service jobs. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A student from drama school shouts slogans during a protest outside parliament in Athens, Greece on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Performing artists and arts students are striking for a second day, closing theatres, halting television shoots and disrupting art school classes, to protest charges in the qualification system of civil service jobs. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Artists play music during a protest outside parliament in Athens, Greece on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Performing artists and arts students are striking for a second day, closing theatres, halting television shoots and disrupting art school classes, to protest charges in the qualification system of civil service jobs. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)