ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Protesting farmers said Wednesday they are planning to camp outside parliament and hold a 48-hour protest against government pension reforms.

Farmers from about 70 highway and road blockades around the country are planning to bring their protest to Athens on Friday and Saturday, in a confrontation with the left-wing government, which is struggling to implement austerity measures demanded by bailout lenders.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government is facing growing opposition from unions and professional groups of over planned pension and tax reforms that are likely to hit the income of salary-earners and the self-employed.

Lawyers, engineers, and other groups that even include physical therapists have staged strikes and protests this week.

The highway blockades by farmers, now in their fourth week, have caused major delays for drivers and truckers but created no serious market supply shortages so far.

Vangelis Boutas, head coordinator of the farmers' roadblocks, said the protesters want to bring up to 100 tractors to Athens for the rally. The police, however, have imposed a ban on tractors entering the city and plan to deploy several thousand officers and eight roadside inspection points near and around the capital.

"We cannot back down in this struggle because our future is at stake," Boutas told reporters in Athens. "If they don't take these (measures) back, we won't be alive tomorrow ... And we can't negotiate our own death."

Tsipras rejected farmers' demands to scrap the planned pension system overhaul and start a full round of negotiations with professional groups and opposition parties.

"It is clear that this reform is not optional," he told a Cabinet meeting. "This is not just a question of us meeting our (bailout) obligations ... The crucial question is whether we will be able to pay pensions or not in just a few years."

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Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed.

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