15 December: Massive Strike Mobilization

On the 15^th of December the 14^th general strike in the space of one year (from 17/12/2009) took place against the barbaric anti-people measures of the social-democratic government, which has the support of the EU and IMF.

The 24hour strike mobilization, which the All-workers Militant Front (PAME) called, embraced every sphere of the economic and social life of the country: Production halted in the factories, public transport stopped, the airports and ports ceased to function, the schools and universities closed, while the hospitals serviced only emergencies.

Thousands of communists, members of the KKE and KNE, together with other militants, were on the picket lines from the crack of dawn on the 15^th of December defending the strike at the factory gates, on the ships’ ramps, at every workplace where it was necessary.

On the 15/12 PAME organized demonstrations in 63 towns, in which a large majority of the striking workers participated, showing in this way that more and more workers are turning their backs on the compromised trade union leaderships of the federations in the public and private sector (GSEE and ADEDY), which have participated in social dialogues to decide on these savage anti-worker measures both openly and in secret.

The self employed and poor and medium farmers demonstrated together with the workers and employees, while everywhere the massive participation of the youth (students and workers) was evident in the strike mobilizations.

On the Eve of the Nationwide strike

It should be noted that on the eve of the strike the governmental majority approved legislation in Parliament, which abolishes collective bargaining agreements, cuts wages, increases indirect taxation for the popular strata and reduces taxation on big capital.

Specifically the legislation provides for:

• The overall reduction of salaries (from 10 to 25%) for workers in the former state industries and public utility companies
• Abolition of industry-level collective bargaining agreements in the private sector and their replacement by “special company-level agreements”, without any restrictions and with cuts in wages of up to 30 and 40%
• Generalization of dismissals, every form of flexible labour relations (part-time employment, employment by rotation, temporary lay-offs etc), drastic changes in shifts, holidays, leave, bonuses be at the discretion of the employers.
• The reduction of over-time by 10%
• The trial period for a new employee to be increased from 2 months to 12 months, so that employers can employ cheap labour through this form of “recycling”
• The notice for dismissal is reduced to one month
• Massive tax relief for capital

The KKE fought in parliament against this anti-people legislation, while the communists and the class-oriented trade union forces which are rallied by PAME played a leading role in the strikes in a series of sectors, which had been in progress from the beginning of the week.

On Tuesday 14/12, a meeting was held between the GS of the CC of the KKE Aleka Papariga with the Prime minister of the country, G. Papandreou, at the latter’s request. «We do not consent to anything. Our assessment is that the real war is starting now.” This is the clear and non-negotiable position of the KKE in relation to the policies of the government and its allies, and also in relation to the attempts to foster a climate of consent concerning the extermination of the people, which the GS of the CC of the Party reiterated, in her statements immediately after the meeting which had been requested by the prime minister concerning the issues which will be discussed at the forthcoming EU summit meeting.

At the central strike rally in Athens

Tens of thousands of workers and youth participated in the mass demonstration organized by PAME in Omonoia Square in the city centre. There then followed a massive march through the streets of Athens which passed by the Parliament in Constitution Square.

Nevertheless, the international Media once again focused not on the isolated incidents of the provocateur mechanisms with the police and not on the hundreds of thousands of workers who demonstrated in dozens of Greek cities.

Aleka Papariga, head of the KKE delegation which participated in the central strike rally of PAME in Athens and in the massive march which followed, made the following statements to journalists “No consent. No ceasefire. Secret and official measures have been scheduled to be taken up until 2014.

Either the people will be bankrupted, or the political system, we will fight against it, we will box into a corner and eventually overthrow it. There is no other choice. 20 years ago the workers could gain some victories through their struggles, but today we need radical change and only the people can bring it about.”

Basic points from the main speech at the rally

The central speaker at the rally, Giorgios Perros, member of PAME’s secretariat, welcomed on behalf of PAME, PASEBE, PASY, MAS and OGE the thousands of workers, young people, unemployed, employees, self-employed, who today unite their fists, their power, their joint struggle, and also their need to strengthen the fight against the common enemy-the government, the monopolies, their political representatives, the EU, which together in a unified way strike against the life of our class and who also ruin the self-employed and wipe out the poor farmers.

And he added “The responsibility of the class-oriented movement increase every day. The great struggles, the tough conflicts with the transnationals are before us. We will prepare ourselves and carry them out…

No one must bow their heads and accept the new barbaric measures which condemn us and our children to poverty, unemployment, insecurity. No one must believe any more the lies and the blackmail of the PASOK government and ND. The new anti-worker crime which attacks wages, labour rights has no relation to the deficit and debt.

They condemn working class families to poverty so that the big businessmen who made a fortune yesterday will make even more profits.

Today’s rally and strike are especially important. They are not just another strike and demonstration.

• They are special not just because of their size and militancy
• They are special not just because they express the total rejection and condemnation of these barbaric and oppressive measures of the government, association of industrialists, and Troika. We reject them and throw them back at the government, the Prime minister, his ministers, the government’s MPs, and also at ND and LAOS with their false and hypocritical tears concerning the torments of the workers. They are not simply attacking rights but safeguarding and strengthening the dictatorship of the monopolies.
• They are special, because this rally, this strike can become the starting point for developments and changes in the labour and trade union movement.

We call on you to agree to a unified line of struggle:

1. We must resist in every factory and enterprise against company-level contracts dictated by the employers
2. We must create in every factory and neighbourhood a solidarity movement
3. Today we take responsibility for the struggle for the trade unions to acquire a mass character.

We call on you to agree on a crucial issue for the future of the movement and the struggles.

Strengthening of PAME everywhere:

• We must change and overturn the correlation of forces
• It must be something that concerns all of us.
• We must rid the trade union movement from the poison of government and employer-led trade unionism

At this point in his speech G. Perros stressed that:

“It is a lie that the drastic reduction of the already unacceptable wages, the smashing up of our labour rights are being carried out in order to prevent dismissals and to deal with unemployment. The truth is that unemployment will increase and workers will be dismissed under this regime of work without rights and starvation wages. The capitalist crisis, capitalist competition and the strengthening of the monopolies give birth to and increase unemployment. No one must expect a savior from anywhere.

The message of disobedience and defiance is not restricted to our country. It has passed into Europe. It helped and contributed to the organization of struggles, to the counterattack against the anti-people policies. So that new forces can be liberated from the clutches of government and employer-led trade unionism, from the parties of the plutocracy and the EU one-way street.

It has become even clearer that two worlds are participating in this conflict, two strategies. On the one hand the world of the monopolies, with all its props, and on the other the world of labour, with its trade unions, the class-oriented movement, with solidarity, with the spirit of self-sacrifice which the class struggle demands.

We have no illusions. Of course the anti-people policy was not overturned. We have one major benefit which is quite significant and we must utilize it. A current of forces is being formed which has a better understanding than at any other time of what sort of movement is needed, and that a movement with the characteristics we want does not develop without obstacles. The need for a full-scale confrontation with employer and government-led trade unionism and a change in the balance of forces is better understood. As well as the need to do away with the parties of the plutocracy, and all those who whitewash the policies of the EU…

There must be no illusions that one strike is enough to respond to the destruction of the life of the working class. The struggle is difficult and requires much effort, sacrifice, patience, good preparation, planning, control, activity and propaganda work. We need well-prepared and determined forces to impose ruptures in the correlation of forces.

No compromise or retreat in the face of difficulties, they must be dealt with and overcome through activity.

It is not enough to condemn the anti-people policies. The results of the mobilizations and the strikes cannot be judged in one day. The strikes and demonstrations will continue after the legislation is voted through. They must be a stage of preparation for the working class, the self-employed, the poor farmers, for a full-scale counterattack.

There exist today the objective pre-conditions for another form of organization of our society which will have as its basic characteristic , the decision of the workers and the popular strata to transform the ownership of the monopolies into social popular ownership. Energy, telecommunications, transport, mineral wealth, manufacturing industries, the land and other development tools must become the property of the people.

These must be developed in a scientific way, through central planning, taking into account the needs of the various industries and regions. Workers’ social control will be safeguarded on this path of development and our country will leave the EU and NATO. Only then will the people live well.

We cannot take a backward step. We are not afraid of the plutocracy. We have faith in the working class. We are certain that the working class will march forward with firm strides, will strengthen the class-oriented movement, and will free itself from the parasites of the plutocracy, from its political and trade union representatives.

Radical changes are the order of the day. Power in the hands of the people and the organization of the economy with as its criterion the satisfaction of the needs of the people. The violence of the monopolies must and can be defeated.

16/12/2010