Down with the government, troika out! Protest of PAME in Athens at the hotel where the troika is staying

On 25/1 at the crack of the dawn the All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME) carried out a dynamic protest in Athens outside the hotel where the delegation of the troika is staying and called on the working people to rise up against the government, the plutocracy and their allies. The protesters of PAME blocked the central entrance of the hotel and shouted slogans from the loudspeakers expressing the opposition of the workers and the people to the policy that leads them to bankruptcy and impoverishment.

This symbolic protest took place in parallel with the fraudulent “social dialogue” between the unions of the employers and the compromised leaderships of the trade unions which takes place in line with the demands of the troika and the coalition government (social democrats, right-wingers, nationalists). As the class oriented trade union movement has denounced, the dialogue aims at the further deterioration of the labour relations, by means of abolishing sectoral collective bargaining agreements and the reduction of the worker’s income in the name of the “competitiveness” of the economy.

The protesters carried out a symbolic action as they removed and burned the flag of the EU which was outside the hotel. The mobilization was warmly received by the people who were passing by hotel. Police forces arrived upon the request of troika that demanded the intervention of the public prosecutor so that they could leave the hotel. Nevertheless, the intimidation efforts failed.

Escalation of the struggle with the general strike

In its statement on the meeting of the so called “social partners” the Executive Secretariat of PAME stresses: “the majority in GSEE has criminal responsibilities. Once again it participates in the dialogue with its partners, SEV (Hellenic Federation of Enterprises), GSEBEE and ESEE (unions of large-scale retailers). The working people must say no the dialogue-fraud. They should not trust the leadership of GSEE which is about to agree with SEV in the name of competitiveness (…)The statements concerning “red lines” are a big deception. They were saying the same thing in previous dialogues while at the same time they were digging the grave of the workers (…).Workers, everyone with PAME for a general strike at the beginning of February, for the escalation of the struggle against the plundering of our income”.

Labour Centers and Federations are already taking decisions for a strike at the beginning of February.

The International Relations Section of KKE