Greek workers to go on strike

[Mather]

Greeks to go on strike. (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/09/201292601316978528.html)

This is the first major strike and public display of opposition to austerity since the coalition government of Antonis Samaras came to power back in June. Hopefully, these strikes can build momentum for more actions and more resistance to austerity and the crisis in the furture.

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

Greeks to go on strike. (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/09/201292601316978528.html)

This is the first major strike and public display of opposition to austerity since the coalition government of Antonis Samaras came to power back in June. Hopefully, these strikes can build momentum for more actions and more resistance to austerity and the crisis in the furture.

Thanks comrade. We have to all post more articles and news that we get hold of to build collective intelligence.

[brigadista]

hoping the greek comrades will update us :)

[Mather]

News updates:

The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/26/eurozone-crisis-general-strike-greece-spain)

Al Jazeera English (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/09/201292601316978528.html)

[La Guaneña]

Hoping to see some more great resistance by the greek workers.

Also, now that the moderate left is in power, it may be a good chance of radicalization.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Riot porn, I choose you!

Ayx0k0d4_Cc

http://s18.postimage.org/pwyypmcpl/greece1.jpg

http://s7.postimage.org/whjnvk38r/greece_2.jpg

http://s13.postimage.org/cklynxu07/greece3.jpg

http://s15.postimage.org/b3gl6jba3/greece4.jpg

[Slavoj Zizek's Balls]

QKxQtGbaat8

[Ele'ill]

Let's make sure that pictures and videos are relevant and actually pertaining to the thread topic.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

Let's make sure that pictures and videos are relevant and actually pertaining to the thread topic.
Argh. I was going to write about the march that was in support of this strike (attended by KKE, PAME and Syriza from what I could gather) that turned into this riot but was too tired and forgot. Feel free to separate into another thread though. :)

[Slavoj Zizek's Balls]

Are any of the Greek workers in the above videos?

[Ele'ill]

pictures and video are fine- the issue is that Grey Scholar posted a video that is dated Oct 7, 2011 and has little to add to the relevance of the current event.

[Slavoj Zizek's Balls]

My apologies Mari3l, the video link was incorrect and you might as well delete it and this post.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Oh I wonder how effective the 300th general strike in the past few years will be...

[Os Cangaceiros]

^I said the exact same thing last time one of these rolled around (which was on February 11th-12th, if I remember correctly), but then something like 40 buildings were burned to the goddamn ground in the center of Athens, and 80,000 pounds of broken marble (http://www.anarchistnews.org/content/tides-flame-seattle-greece) that had been hurled at the police supposedly had to be removed from the streets the next day. So maybe this will be a "good one". Not to say that rampant destruction accompanied by economic screwing is a good thing, but at least it'll satiate my perverse riot voyeurism.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Exactly, it doesn't achieve jack shit apparently, they still got massively screwed and they still will get massively screwed after this. Shouldn't the people in Greece in the movement realize after the tenth time this happens within a short period of time that this tactic of a one or two day general strike just isn't going to get them what they want? I mean I love to watch thousands in the street resist, to see molotovs flying, rocks being thrown, pigs getting what is coming to them, etc, but it would be nice to see the Greek people actually gain something from their struggle. Is this happening? Because it seems like everytime a Greek comrade speaks on here the situation has gotten worse for the working class and the revolutionary left.

[Crux]

Hoping to see some more great resistance by the greek workers.

Also, now that the moderate left is in power, it may be a good chance of radicalization.
uh PASOK was in power before. Now they are in power with the conservatives of ND. I suppose the junior party in this coalition, "Democratic Left", an amalgam of some ex-PASOK members and a right wing split from SYN, could see their support melt away.

[Delenda Carthago]

PAME had demostrations in 70 towns all over Greece.

The one in Athens
jedk5WI-G54

PAME clashes with riot cops so that the union of people with disabilities will get to meet the minister of Labour, something that in the end they managed to do.
Zjp4olJ1ENU

PAME occupies the office of the Peloponisos Prefect
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RbY5jCX6FN0/UGMJ0GrbmZI/AAAAAAAAAN0/rKEyFKH5TVc/s320/P9260010.jpg

[Delenda Carthago]

KKE's announcement for the strike


Strike on 26th September: Major participation in the strike-significant response to the anti-labour barbaric measures



http://inter.kke.gr/mail_icon.gif (http://inter.kke.gr/News/news2012/2012-09-27-apergia/sendto_form)
http://inter.kke.gr/print_icon.gif


http://www2.rizospastis.gr/getImage.do?size=medium&id=376754&format=.jpg A truly massive and major strike was held in Greece on Wednesday 26th September. Thousands of workers overcame the intimidation and the threats of the employers, the difficulties that the barbaric measures have created for the lives of the workers’ and popular families, as well as the illusions and went on strike. Tens of thousands of workers participated in the demonstrations of PAME which were held in 70 cities throughout the country.


In Athens and Thessalonica the demonstrations of PAME were impressive due to their remarkable militancy and the enormous participation of the people, something that even the sworn enemies of PAME cannot deny. It took many hours for the march to pass through Syntagma Square. Tens of thousands of workers, unemployed, pensioners, immigrants, self-employed and small traders took part in the strike demonstrations of PAME throughout the country. The high-level of the participation of the youth was also characteristic.

The impressive demonstration of PAME in Athens was the result of the work of the trade unions, the struggle committees in various workplaces, of the people’s committees which in the previous period organized assemblies, meetings and discussions in the sectors, in several factories, in workplaces and neighbourhoods. This is a fact that shows the strengthening of the class-oriented current in the labour movement; it points to the path we should follow.

Before the demonstration, the pickets of PAME in many workplaces defeated the intimidation in workplaces-ghettoes and contributed decisively to the strike. The slogans which prevailed were: “no more sacrifices for the plutocracy- we can live without memoranda and outside of the EU”. This strike is a significant response given that in this period the coalition government of ND/PASOK/Democratic Left together with the Troika is finalizing the new massacre of the people in the name of the previous allegedly life-saving haircut.

At the same time, the EU and the IMF are quarrelling over who will benefit from the possible new hair-cut while they are unanimous regarding the breaking of the people. With the new package of measures, which aims at ensuring the capitalist recovery and their profitability in the future, the capitalists and the EU are demanding the complete abolition of the collective bargaining agreements. They demand that the wages and the salaries be decided upon unilaterally by the employers and the government. The abolition of the minimum wage and salary concerns the working people in the private and the public sector as a whole as it leads to a wholesale reduction of salaries and pensions.

The 33% increase of the number of social security stamps which are required for retirement means that retirement age will not be merely the age of 67, as they officially claim, but much higher i.e. 72 years so as to conform with the average life expectancy, as is provided for by the Treaty of Maastricht. Those who own a house or a shop will be taxed without mercy. Furthermore, they promote dramatic cuts in benefits and healthcare spending by means of closing down or merging hospitals. They impose new heavy taxes along with the old ones, they cut the electricity to those who cannot pay the bill, they impose fines, cut salaries, pensions, allowances and increase the prices of all goods.

“We have never said that we will turn things upside down with a single strike. The effective struggles require above all the conflict with the capitalist employers in the basic sectors. This is what they are afraid of” said amongst other things Giorgos Perros, member of the Executive Secretariat of PAME in his speech at the strike demonstration of PAME.

“Effective struggles mean conflict and rupture with the EU. They do not want this because it does not serve the interests of the monopolies. When these gentlemen are claiming that the memoranda are an ineffective policy they are being hypocritical and lying. Effective struggles mean condemning the racist-Nazi views of “Golden Dawn”.

Alongside the well-known trade union bureaucrats we now have a new generation of bureaucrats who come from the same breeding ground of compromise and retreat in the face of the big interests, but they wear a new mask and have new customs. We are talking about the trade unionists of “Independent Intervention” which belongs to SYRIZA. After they now belatedly saw the bankruptcy of the majority of GSEE and ADEDY they are raising the flag of struggles. Struggles without any cost. Struggles without sacrifices. They consider strikes as simply being one more day’s wage lost and claim that we have to find new forms of struggle outside of the factories, the services, the workplaces.”

A large delegation of the CC of the KKE headed by the GS of the CC of the KKE, Aleka Papariga, took part in PAME’s demonstration. The GS of the CC made the following statement:

“What is needed is a new beginning in the rallying of forces, heightened forms of struggle and radical demands for the struggles to be effective. The people must believe that a Greece which is disengaged from the EU, a Greece where the people are in charge can ensure social prosperity and prevent the worst. If the people do not believe this, then the parties of power will have the upper hand, as well as the plutocrats and the various managers of the system who shamelessly mock them.”

The limited incidents, which the media, especially the international media, exaggerated, were aimed at concealing the size and the demands of the strike mobilizations. The KKE made the following comment:

“The enormous mobilization of the police in order to deal with a few dozen hooded ones, the arrests even of school students a long distance away from the centre of Athens from early in the morning onwards, the chase and the game of “hit and run” up to Omonia square, demonstrates the desire of the government and the various mechanisms to intimidate the people. It also proves that they have prepared a plan for the repression of the people’s movement even though it was not fully implemented today at the general strike and the enormous demonstrations of PAME all over Greece”.

The next steps are being prepared from the day after the strike, in militant readiness for new mobilizations in all sectors, workplaces so as to prevent the measures that lead to the destitution of the people. The people must fearlessly strengthen their struggles even more; they must not accept the contemporary slavery.

[DaringMehring]

“What is needed is a new beginning in the rallying of forces, heightened forms of struggle and radical demands for the struggles to be effective. The people must believe that a Greece which is disengaged from the EU, a Greece where the people are in charge can ensure social prosperity and prevent the worst. If the people do not believe this, then the parties of power will have the upper hand, as well as the plutocrats and the various managers of the system who shamelessly mock them.”

Yes yes and yes.

But why beat around the bush. She should just come out an say it -- a SOCIALIST Greece with the working class in power.

All the best to the Greek comrades who are fighting for a revolution, in this revolutionary situation. Seize the power -- and people all around the world will come to your aid.

[REDSOX]

The general strike from all indications was pretty successful not totally successful but a good opening gambit. However it will take far more than 1 day strikes to stop this abomination of ultra neo liberalism which the greeks are suffering from. Strikes i would suggest need to be of 48 hours or even 72 hour duration with marches and occupations to accompany it. An indefinite total strike may need to be launched which would challenge the system itself, anything less will not do. One encouraging sign perhaps is the decision of GENOP power workers union to stage rolling 48 strikes from Monday October 1st if the government does not back down on its plan to present the details of the butchers cuts next week. They also have said that GSEE should call more strikes with greater frequency and if they do they will call off their action. Things could be hotting up but we will see!!

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Somehow i'm struggling to trust KKE at all...

[Delenda Carthago]

Somehow i'm struggling to trust KKE at all...
Keep us informed on this one while we organise the next general strike probably for the next month. Your struggle means everything to us.

[Delenda Carthago]

PAME
We answer to the barbaric measures using a new strike!

In his comment, PAME for meeting government - Troika notes:

"Any negotiation between the government and representatives of the trust is to benefit the chapter and to sacrifice the remaining labor rights in profitability.

The best response of the working class in the barbarous measures of self government, representatives of multinationals, the EU, is the massive participation in the escalation of the struggle with the new strike.

Multiply every day decisions to strike through collective discussions, meetings, workplaces to overcome fear, to break the terror. "


Lets go for another round!:thumbup1: