Message of the CC on International Women’s Day on 8th March

The CC of the KKE salutes the women of the working class and the poor popular strata, the young women and the immigrants.

This year’s 8^th of March comes at a time when the large majority of our people, both women and men, suffer the heavy consequences from the sharpening of the capitalist economic crisis and the anti-people anti-labour measures which are implemented by the government. These measures have been decided long ago along with the EU and the capitalist forces and are not temporary at all. These measures are also included in the programmes of PASOK and ND as well as in the EU treaties and the strategy “EU 2020”.

The women and the youth are the biggest victims of this orchestrated attack by the EU, capital and its governments.

Women’s unemployment rate is being multiplied every day and has reached 16,1%. Among young women it has reached 30,6%!

Insecurity, the increase of the workers with flexible labour relations, the further commercialisation and privatisation of the health and welfare services increase the burden that women shoulder, reduce their free time and deteriorate the life of working women.

Capital regards the basic benefits for maternity as a cost.

The reactionary reforms in education increase class differentiation and the cost of education, reinforce private education, involve enterprises in the operation and the programme of schools, merge and close down schools and classes creating serious consequences for the parents, the children and the teachers.

All these prevent young couples from creating their own family.

The reinforcement of “competitiveness” namely of the profits of capital goes hand in hand with the deterioration of our life. The anti-people anti-labour measures will not stop as long as the monopolies and big capital prevail.

The anger of the women of the working class and the poor popular strata has not yet been transformed into organised people’s activity.

The over 100-year history of the struggle for women’s emancipation and equality proves that gains in capitalism are limited and temporary. Only through the organised struggle against the political line and the power of the monopolies can the people win rights.

However no gain can be established unless women themselves and their movement participate in this struggle as an indispensable part of the general workers’ and people’s struggle and unless this struggle arrives at the victory of the working class and its allies.

The recovery of the economy will once again operate in favour of capital and at the expense of the workers.

The only sacrifices which are worthwhile are those for another path of development of the Greek economy and society, against the policy of the EU, NATO and the other imperialist organisations that will satisfy the needs of the workers’ and people’s families. The establishment of the modern rights of the people require another Greece, where the power will be in the hands of the working class and its allies, the economy will operate through central planning and workers’ and people’s control and the means of production will be under people’s ownership.

The activity for the formation of the alliance of the anti-imperialist antimonopoly democratic front at social-political level aiming at the people’s power and economy is not tomorrow’s struggle; it is a proposal that can and must mobilise the women of the popular strata today. It is a proposal that concerns the present and the future as well.

The KKE, which is firmly oriented to this direction, organises struggles and promotes goals of struggle calling on the women of the working class and the popular strata to strengthen the class oriented trade union movement, the radical rallies of the self-employed, the farmers the students, the radical women’s movement to struggle for:

• full and stable employment with decent wages.
• protection of the unemployed.
• retirement at the age of 55 for woman and at the age of 60 for men.
• maternity leave for all women, workers, self-employed and farmers two months before and six months after birth. Extra parental leave for one year with full earnings and social security rights.
• Exclusively public and free health and welfare system abolishing any business activity.
• No payments and contributions for health, medicines, medical examinations and treatment.
• public and free health centres focusing on prevention and the protection of women and children.
• public and free nurseries, centres for creative activities children’s camping.
• exclusively public and free education system. Abolition of any form of private education.
• two-year mandatory public and free pre-school education

March 2011

The CC of KKE