Hundreds held a demonstration outside the police headquarters in Athens on Thursday to protest the detention of dozens of shipyards workers who clashed with police at the Defence Ministry earlier.

Approximately 110 workers at Skaramangas shipyards were apprehended and three protesters slightly injured after breaking into the courtyard of the Defence Ministry, demanding a meeting with officials over six-month backpays.

Using tear gas, police dispersed the crowd of some 500 protesters who then moved to the nearby police headquarters.

Demonstrators who demand the release of their coworkers were joined by employees at Elefsina's shipyards and representatives of the two main private sector and public sector trade unions GSEE and ADEDY who were holding protests in central Athens at the time.

Tension rose outside the police headquarters as the crowd scuffled with riot police.

Workers at Skaramangas are on industrial action for months over backpays from the private Arab-German consortium which controls the shipyards since 2010.

The shipyards rely on defence contracts from the Greek state which amidst the acute debt crisis is said to have financial disputes with the owners.

Debt-laden, recession-hit Greece has been kept afloat through multi-billion euro bailout packages from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund since 2010 in exchange for implementing structural reform and reigning in government spending.

The Greek government is currently negotiating further austerity measures requested by creditors to unlock crucial bailout funds without which Greece risks bankruptcy and an exit from the eurozone.