Massive PAME Mayday Rallies Across Greece

Thousands and thousands of workers participated in the mayday manifestations and rallies organized by PAME in 70 cities and towns across Greece, all marked by massive turnout and a striking participation of youth.

In Athens many thousands of workers, men, women, immigrants, young workers and students gathered at Syntagma Square responding to the call of PAME and the class-oriented trade-unions. A representative of General Union of Palestinian Workers, and an women immigrant worker from Ukraine greeted the rally alongside with trade-unionists from different sectors. The main speech behalf of PAME was delivered by George Perros who amongst other underscored PAME's support for immigrant workers in Greece and voiced our solidarity with the working class of Turkey, condemning the banning and oppression of the Mayday demonstration in Istanbul by the Turkish government.

The rally put also forward a special resolution demanding referendum over the Lisbon Treaty and thousands of signatures where collected among the workers.

The rally concluded with a mass demonstration towards the US Embassy with slogans against imperialism and in solidarity with the workers’ mobilizations, and the peoples who struggle. At the port of Piraeus all ships were immobilized due to the strike declared by the class-based unions of the Mechanics of Merchant Marine and of the lower crews. It is worthy mentioning that the sold-out trade-unionists of PASOK, ND and SYNASPISMOS that form the majority of the direction in the Pan-Hellenic Seamen’s Federation had only called for a 4-hours stoppage of work during hours with no ship departures.

This year the bankruptcy of the leadership (PASOK-ND-Synaspismos) of the General Confederation (GSEE ) had been more than obvious, since they managed to gather only a handful of people failing to realize the announced demonstration since the few participants dissolved in disarray following minor conflicts among them.

At the same time, Giorgos Toussas, MEP and CC member of KKE travelled to Turkey, following invitation by the Communist Party of Turkey, and joined the demonstration in Istanbul at Taskim Square where he conveyed the solidarity of the Greek communists and denounced the ban of the workers’ march and their brutal oppression by the Turkish government.

Info by the International Relations Section