INFO KKE: Militant mobilisations against the new anti-labour measures and the persecutions of immigrants and refugees

Demonstrations of the class oriented workers’ movement throughout Greece

Hands off the allowance for heavy and unhealthy jobs

Thousands of workers, youth, women, self-employed and immigrants in Athens, Thessalonica and other cities throughout the country stood against the implemented restructuring in the Healthcare, Welfare and Social Security systems. They participated in militant rallies of PAME (All workers militant Front) chanting: “Hand off the allowance for heavy and unhealthy jobs”, demanding the widening of the sphere of heavy and unhealthy jobs and exclusively public Social Security and Healthcare for all.

The deputies of KKE condemned as well in the Parliament the shameful amendment that was adopted grace to the votes of pro-governmental deputies. This amendment leads to the narrowment of the insurance scheme of the heavy and unhealthy jobs. Following the line of big capital and the EU the government declassifies a series of jobs, which have been classified as heavy and unhealthy up to now. Pleading the progress of science, which serves the even greater exploitation of workers, the government excludes from the allowance list a number of heavy and unhealthy occupations, while refusing to include a series of new jobs that should be characterised as such. The new law should not be implemented as occupational diseases harm increasing numbers of workers and last year 124 workers’ deaths have been caused while working. The above amendments are accompanied by anti-labour restructurings, the dissolution of the social security system, the heightening of the exploitation through lowering the price of labour power and the intimidation at workplaces.

The decisive repulse of the law by the workers through the ranks of PAME (All Workers’ Militant Front) shows that there is no solution for the workers in class cooperation and in the so called social-dialogues and collaboration with the employers. Such kind of dialogues is promoted by the forces of the rest of the opposition parties and by the compromised trade unions. Besides, their disputes are not in essential issues.

The only way out for the working class is the enforcement of class struggle and the wider participation along the class forces of the labour movement.

---

Hands off immigrants and refugees. Greek and foreign workers united

The last days there have been an escalation of the pogrom of the EU and the Greek government of New Democracy (conservatives) against immigrants. This pogrom is also supported by PASOK (social-democrats) and the ultra-right party LAOS. Recently, cadres of the opportunist SYN/SYRIZA which supports the EU one way road, also undersigned resolutions that were launching persecutions against immigrants.(eg in Patras city). The policy of the EU presupposes the exploitation of immigrants and their persecution.

On Tuesday 28/7 there was a barbaric operation of immigrant refoulement from the ghetto of Palestinian and Somali immigrants of Chios to Turkey through Thessalonica and Evros. It was accompanied by police violence against forces of KKE that tried to inhibit the transfer. There were three children among the chained refugees, who were packed in the hold of the ship “Theofilos”.

At the same time, there were mass arrests of 99 Somali immigrants in the centre of Athens. The class forces of PAME reacted instantaneously, conducting a mass mobilisation, thus expressing their solidarity with the victims of imperialist interventions, who witness the fierce barbarity of the capitalist system.

KKE stresses that the offensive against the allowance for the heavy and unhealthy jobs and all the measures against workers are accompanied by the persecutions of immigrants and refugees.

Hands off immigrants and refugees. Greek and foreign workers united.