THOUSANDS of Slovenians have gathered in a protest against government austerity policies.

Organisers say 30,000 people gathered in Ljubljana to call for an end to the austerity programme, which has seen public-sector wages cut by 3%.

Dusan Semolic, head of the largest trade union, ZSSS, told the crowd: "We demand that the government rejects the neo-liberal virus that is spreading across Europe. The reforms have to be in line with the needs of citizens and not in line with expectations of the people in Brussels."