The Greek Government of SYRIZA (which is in alliance with the far-right ANEL party) prepares the escalation of the attack against the workers and the popular strata of Greece.
The last memorandum with its new prerequisites leads to a new round of attack against the life of the working-people families, as over the next few months the government is to complete a massive amount of anti-peoples’ measures so as to declare the supposed “end of the memorandums”. Measures already agreed with the EU-IMF-ECB and which are demanded by the industrialists, ship-owners, the bankers etc, since they serve their competitiveness and profits.
The "end of the memorandums” described by the government, is based on the countless antiworkers laws of the previous years that have come to stay, as well as on the continuous measures that the SYRIZA-ANEL government carries out every three months. The “end of the memorandums” which the government declares in its fiestas across Greece are empty words, with only purpose to put the workers to sleep.
The recovery of the economy promised by the government means further intensification of the exploitation to create attractive environment for all kinds of "investors".
As much as the government claims that there is "light in the end of the tunnel" for the people, reality denies it. Their plans to ban the right to go on strike, to mute every voice that complains, demands and struggles, only confirms the commitments that the Government has made to the industrialists, the shipowners, the big business groups.
Antiworkers measures and oppression go hand in hand!
The imposition of anti-peoples’ policies goes hand in hand with the intensification of authoritarianism and repression. They try to stop the struggles of the working class. They want to raise obstacles and put restrictions on trade union action of the workers. They want to put their hands on the unions.
With a recent government law, the action of those who resist auctions (the confiscation of indebted workers’ houses by the banks), those who protest, those who are trying to prevent this injustice, is criminalized, as the struggle to protect the workers’ homea is considered a felony!
This is a decisive step for the complete elimination of the strike right, when already under the current legislation framework, today in Greece 90% of the strikes are called illegal and abusive. The aim of the Government is to weaken and disarm the workers’ movement, the trade unions, to deliver the workers slaves and disorganized to the appetites of the business groups.
The government chooses to strike the working class at the primary level of organization, within the enterprise, the factory, where intimidations are stronger with threats and pressures. Inside where the exploitation is born, the area that is the source of profitability.
The right to strike is non-negotiable! Our class has conquered it with countless sacrifices and blood! We will not allow to anyone to touch it!
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| Behind the smiles of PM Alexis Tsipras and Minister of Labour Effie Achtsioglou, a fierce attack on workers' rights is underway. |
The last developments also revealed the black coalition of the Greek government and the capitalists with certain forces within the trade unions. In the proposal of PAME for workers’ response to the new measures with National General Strike, the GSEE and ADEDY (members of ETUC in Greece) refused!
The same forces made whatever they could a few weeks before to undermine the General Strike of December 14. They do everything to prevent the organization of demands in the workplace. They cultivate defeatism and send the workers away from the trade unions.
With their attitude, they not only help and support the government, by giving space and time for a series of reactionary, anti-workers’ reforms to pass without resistance, but they also prove their full agreement and identification, to the demands of the industrialists and the big capitalists, their alliance with all the parties that support the system of exploitation.
We call the workers and their unions to take the situation in their hands. To strengthen the struggle, with action and initiatives in the industries and the workplaces. To strengthen mass procedures, their General Assemblies, meetings.
We call on the Regional Labor Centers and the National Federations to take decisions for General Strike when the government brings bil with the antiworkers measures to the Parliament.
We are fighting and demanding
The reestablishment of minimum wage on the levels it was before. The reestablishment of Sectoral and Branch Level Collective Contracts. Increases in wages, pensions and social benefits, to recover the losses, and basic needs.
To put an end to all antiworkers’ laws and measures, the memorandums.
No house of working-class families falls into the hands of a banker.
Stop constant taxing
We are fighting because we have to defend our only weapon, our right to strike, organization, collective struggle and action.
We fight because we do not tolerate employers' intimidations and repression in the workplace!
We fight to strengthen the struggles against privatizations, against the delivery of public wealth to business groups.
Every factory and place of work, each neighborhood to become the core of action and resistance, so that not only the new measures will not pass, but also with our struggle the previous ones to be abolished.
No worker, no unemployed person should be fooled and believe that the attack will stop, that someone else will stop it for us. Only the organized class struggle of the working people can overturn this situation.
We have the power, the right! Everybody in the fight!
Source: All-Workers Militant Front (PAME).
