"Their profits vs our lives"! Huge strike rallies in Greece on the 2nd anniversary of Tempi train crash

The struggle escalates with mass participation in today's nationwide strike

 

The participation of the workers and youth in today’s 24-hour national general strike on 28 February was huge, exactly two years after the railway crime, when two trains, a freight train and a passenger train, collided in the area of Tempi, near the city of Larissa, killing 57 people, mostly university students.

Greeks to flood the streets on 28 February: National strike and demand for Justice for the Tempi train crash

We are going on strike!

This is the widespread call to struggle that the trade unions across the country are sounding for 28 February, the day when the private and public sectors will come to a standstill, two years after the crime in Tempe.

On that day, workers in factories, construction sites, shops, restaurants, services, etc. will participate in the strike en masse, together with the self-employed, small craftsmen and tradesmen.

Arch-capitalists Donald Trump and Elon Musk openly threaten workers who go on strike

Two of the world's most prominent capitalists, former U.S President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, can't hide their deep enmity against the working class. On the contrary, they express it publicly and even share a laugh about it. Shamelessly and Cynically.

Here is an excerpt of their discussion during Trump's interview to X (Twitter) on Monday:

“I look at what you do, you walk in and you just say, ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike – I won’t mention the name of the company – but they go on strike, and you say, ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. Every one of you is gone,” Trump said. Musk could be heard laughing and replying “yeah”.

 

Hollywood actors and writers go on strike: SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher blasts film studios

Hollywood actors will go on strike at midnight on Thursday after talks with studios broke down, joining film and television writers who have been on picket lines since May. Studios now face their first dual work stoppage in 63 years, forcing them to halt many productions across the United States and abroad.   

 

Both SAG-AFTRA - Hollywood's largest union, representing 160,000 film and television actors - and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are demanding increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

 

Greece on the streets — “Our dead, their profits” — Massive strike rallies for the train crash crime

Thousands of workers, school pupils and students, young men and women, participated on Wednesday in massive nationwide strike demonstrations across Greece, demanding no cover-up of the governmental responsibilities for the fatal train crash that took place in Larissa on February 28th. 

 

The strike came as a continuation of the March 5th huge rally held in Athens' Syntagma Square during the 48-hour strike of railway workers. Read here the call by the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME).

France: Workers protest against government's pension reform in the largest mobilizations of the last 20 years

Huge crowds marched across France on Tuesday to say "non" to President Emmanuel Macron's plan to make people work longer before retirement. 

According to the estimations of Trade Unions, yesterday's mobilization in Paris is the largest since 2000. 

The French Interior ministry said that a total of 1.272 million people took part in the protests nationwide, up slightly from the first nationwide demonstration on Jan 19. In Paris, a total of 87,000 people marched, compared to 80,000 on Jan. 19, it added.

Britain: Young Communist League (YCL) calls for action against new Tory anti-strike laws

The Young Communist League (YCL) has issued the following statement in response to the Conservative Party's plans for new laws attacking trade unions and the right to strike in Britain: 

"This week’s announcement by Rishi Sunak’s Tory government that they intend to introduce new legislation attacking trade unions and the right to strike in Britain must be met with determined and united resistance by the labour movement.

PAME exposes the dirty role and lies of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

PAME: The dirty role and lies of the ETUC-CES revealed again

On November 9 a General Strike took place in Greece. A strike that was decided, was prepared and succeeded thanks to the action of the militant trade unions of Greece. It was one of the most massive and successful strikes of recent years. In this strike the class unions of Greece had the massive support and solidarity of militant unions from all over the world and at the central Strike Rally of PAME in Athens attended the entire Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions-WFTU/FSM, expressing its solidarity in practice.

Greek workers on the streets: Massive participation in nationwide strike rallies

Photos: 902.gr

With a massive strike rally in the center of Athens and numerous demonstrations over 60 cities across the country, Greece's organized labor movement sent today, November 9, a militant and powerful message of struggle against the anti-people’s policy that generates poverty, hunger, exploitation and wars, that leaves the people freezing so as to warm the profits of the business groups. 

The Unions have declared Wednesday 9 November a 24-hour nationwide strike demanding, among others, substantial increases in wages and pensions, for collective agreements that guarantee stable work with rights, for electricity and basic goods cheap for the people (read PAME statement).

Nationwide strike in Greece on November 9: No one frozen! No one hungry! No one alone!

The preparations and the call for the National General Strike of November 9 continue and escalate. November 9 Strike rallies have been announced so far in 61 Cities all over Greece.

Send your messages, photos, videos of solidarity to PAME at Email: international@pamehellas.gr, Twitter @PAME_Greece, #GreeceGeneralStrike #GeneralStrikeNov9.

PAME Statement & Platform of Demands

WFTU-PAME: Solidarity with the big strike of the workers in the French Refineries #SoutienRaffineurs

The World Federation of Trade Unions, representing 105 million workers in 130 countries around the world, expresses its support for the strikers in the refineries of France and for the FNIC CGT, affiliated to the WFTU, which has been leading this heroic struggle for 3 weeks against the big monopolies Total and Exxon mobile.

Refinery workers in France are waging a powerful and exemplary struggle, at a time when these big oil monopolies are paying billions of Euros in dividends to their shareholders, while refusing to raise wages: refiners are showing that only the way of the strike and the struggle can force the employers to satisfy the demands of the workers.

Greece's trade union movement prepares for massive nationwide strike on November 9

With big, massive meetings, representing hundreds of Unions the class unions of Greece prepare the National General Strike of November 9 and honored the WFTU International Action Day.

In Athens at the Sporting Arena, which was decorated with the banners of PAME, the trade unions and the WFTU, and with the central banner of the event giving the slogan “No waiting, no tolerance, everyone to the general strike on 9 November”, welcomed hundreds of trade union delegations from all sectors.

USA: Solidarity with the nurses' strike in Minnesota and Wisconsin

The largest private sector nurses' strike in US history kicked off Monday, organisers said, with some 15,000 workers in hospitals across Minnesota and Wisconsin demanding better working conditions and higher wages.

Strikes in the United States have occurred regularly over the past year, with employees reporting to be exhausted by working during the Covid-19 pandemic and struggling with price rises.

May Day 2022 in Greece: "The working class does not bow its head" (VIDEO)

“The working class will not bow its head” was the message sent by thousands of demonstrators on May 1st in Athens' Syntagma Square, on the occasion of the International Workers' Day. With a militant rally, trade unions that participate in the ranks of the All-Workers' Militant Front (PAME) raised their voice against the rise of prices and Greece's involvement in the imperialist war in Ukraine.

136 years since the uprising in Chicago, in the shadow of another imperialist war that is taking place for the profits of the capitalists, in the face of the escalating attack of governments against the workers' rights, the message of the May 1st protests throughout Greece is a beacon of hope. 

Greece: Trade unionists, KKE cadres arrested by police because they protested against NATO!

On Wednesday 6th April, Greek riot police forces launched an unprovoked attack against workers and students in the port of Thessaloniki, during a large strike rally that was held in the country's second largest city.

The demonstrators tried to approach the port's gate in order to protest for the presence of a NATO ship that transfers military equipment towards Eastern Europe. 

India: Millions of working people participated in 48-hour general strike

Another massive general strike took place in India on 28-29th March 2022, with millions of working men and women responding to the call by the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions, Independent Sectoral Federations/ Associations.

"This historic strike call was given not merely on immediate demands of the workers but against the anti-national destructive policies of Central government", reads a statement by Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

Greece: Significant victory for COSCO dockworkers!

After seven days of strike, the dockworkers of COSCO at Piraeus Port in Greece came victorious, as the employers were forced to accept most of their demands. The good news were announced yesterday, Thursday 4/11, during a rally held by Trade Unions in Athens. 

According to information, after negotiations of the Ministry of Shipping with Piraeus bodies and company executives, there was a framework to satisfy the demands of the employees, while COSCO accepted the application of shift and increase of the post from four to six people, in the composition health and safety committee, while abolishing the counter-shift.

PAME: Solidarity with the workers' strikes in the USA

John Deree employees protest in Davenport, Iowa.

In a statement of solidarity towards the recent mobilizations and strikes by workers throughout the United States, the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME), Greece's class-based union movement, stresses out:

"PAME, which represents the class union movement of Greece, a member of the WFTU, expresses solidarity with the workers in the USA who are in various mobilizations, strikes and protests, claiming Collective Agreements with salary increases in many sectors.

Italy in the streets: General Strike on October 11th

In a statement the Italian USB Trade Union (Unione Sindacale di Base), jointly with other class oriented trade unions and workers' association, has proclaimed a General Strike, for both public and private sector, throughout the country on October 11th. 

The statement reads:

The Draghi government has literally removed from the economic recovery plan of the country the interests of Italian workers. With the complicit support of CGIL, CISL and UIL, the layoffs have been unlocked, starting a wave of redundancies, relocations and heavy restructuring throughout the private sector.

Greek Parliament approves monstrous anti-labour bill — "The people will have the last word" says KKE leader

Thousands of people demonstrated on Wednesday June 16th in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and other big cities denouncing the monstrous omnibus labor law that abolishes the 8-hour working day and attacks trade union rights.

Large strike demonstrations took place in Syntagma Square, downtown Athens, in the morning of Wednesday, as well as in the afternoon, during the voting of the omnibus bill in the Parliament.