Greek labor unions held a fresh round of nationwide anti-austerity protests on Wednesday as part of similar Europe-wide mobilizations for "employment and social justice," ahead of a parliamentary vote due later in the evening on additional healthcare cuts.

As the Greek government pushes the bill to secure a second 130-billion euro (174.77 billion U.S. dollars) aid package by international creditors to avoid a chaotic bankruptcy in March, Greek workers took to the streets once again.

Doctors and staff in public hospitals kicked off the protests in the morning by staging a 24-hour strike against the bill that included mergers of pension funds and cutbacks on allowances and prescribed medicines to slash deficits.

They argued that further spending cuts on healthcare would pose risks for the patients and condemn healthcare personnel to poverty.

On Wednesday afternoon, they were joined by pharmacists who protested an extension on the working hours, as well as public servants who held work stoppages over the supplementary spending cuts included in another bill approved by Greek lawmakers on Tuesday night.

Archaeological sites, such as the Acropolis hill, were shut down for hours, along with municipal agencies and bank branches, while strikers symbolically occupied town halls across debt-stricken Greece.

Both the unpopular bills are part of the so-called prior actions demanded by European counterparts and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Athens to fulfill by early March, in exchange for the release of the new rescue loans.

Meanwhile, the umbrella trade union of civil servants ADEDY and private sector employees GSEE also joined forces to protest the reduction of the minimum wage in the private sector, which was approved by the Greek government on Tuesday in order to boost competitiveness and growth.

Recession-hit employees who gathered in front of the parliament in central Athens on Wednesday afternoon for the main rally organized by unions, were chanting slogans such as "Enough. We can't take any more austerity."

"Two years ago, when this austerity and reform drive started, I went along. I thought it was the way to reduce the country's debt burden. I knew it would be painful for a while, but I hoped we would exit the debt crisis," a protester named Ntina Morou said.

"But, after endless rounds of salary cuts and tax increases, I can no longer cover my basic expenses, even though I am one of the lucky ones who still have a job. This is not the way to solve the problems," the young lawyer added.

Lawyers, civil engineers and other professionals joined Wednesday's demonstration by setting up a stage for an anti-austerity concert opposite to the Finance Ministry.

Greek officials insisted that the harsh austerity in exchange of multi-billion loans saved Greece from default and could give the country an opportunity to restore development.

Without the second bailout aid by the euro zone and IMF, Greece would not manage to redeem 14.5 billion euros in bonds on March 20, which would send shockwaves across the continent and hurt other weak countries like Portugal, Ireland and Italy.