LabourStart headline - Source: Reuters

More... (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/27/us-greece-strike-idUSKCN0JB0NE20141127)

..24hr General Strike: We break the shackles of contemporary slavery

The strike mobilization of workers, self-employed, women, pensioners, immigrants, students and schools students, who answered the call of the All-workers’ Militant Front (PAME) in the framework of the 24hr general strike in the public and private sectors on the 27th of November, was marked by mass demonstrations in many Greek cities.

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PAME organized dozens of strike rallies in all the major Greek cities.



Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the centre of Athens and then marched to the Greek parliament. A delegation of the World Federation of Trade Unions took part in the strike mobilization.



Giota Tavoulari, President of the Federation of Workers in the Pharmaceutical Industry and member of PAME’s Executive Secretariat, was the central speaker at PAME’s strike rally and called for the organization of the workers in strong mass trade unions and substantial wage increases everywhere:



•The signing of a national pay agreement with a return of the minimum salary to 751 euros, as the minimum basis for increase to the lowest salaries.
•To return the minimum salaries covered by sectoral labour agreements to the levels of 2009. The wretched starvation salaries of 586 and 511 euros must be abolished.
•No worker without a collective labour agreement. There must be an end to the torment of individual contracts. All the anti-worker laws that attack the collective labour agreements must be abolished.
•Stable labour relations must be restored.
•Abolition of all the laws that attack social-security rights and reduce social-security cover and pensions.
•A return of all the losses and the full state guarantee for all the pensions and benefits.
•The needs of the social-security funds must be covered by the state and the big employers.
•Minimum pension of 600 euros.
•No worker without social-security cover.
•Immediate restoration of the loss of the 13th and 14th pensions.
•An end to the nightmare of unemployment.
•Full benefits for the unemployed for the full duration of their unemployment. Unemployment benefit to be raised to 600 euros.
•The period of unemployment to be recognized for the calculation of pensions without any further burdens for the unemployed. The state and employers must pay for this.
•The slave market of the employment programs must be abolished.


At the same time, the representative of PAME criticized the stance of the leadership of GSEE and ADEDY that fosters the view of consensus, compromise, class collaboration and added that PAME rejects the theory of class collaboration and further stressed that: “we reject the illusion that if the managers of the government change, then the exploitative system will become more humane and the situation will change. The expectation, the placing of hope in governmental changes has been proved that it does not bring back gains. Inertia and delays create new retreats, new losses and consolidate poverty and destitution. The promises-crumbs of the government today and SYRIZA show that their strategy is unified, that they protect the wealth of the business groups, lend impetus to their greater profitability and provide empty promises for the workers.” The speaker called for a struggle for “the only necessary and realistic goal, which is for the wealth that is produced to be returned to those that produce it, to us. It should be directed to the satisfaction of the contemporary needs of the workers and popular strata. So that we can make our dreams and the nightmares of our exploiters come true.”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tsycK-rb6KE

Statement of D. Koutsoumpas



The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, attended the strike mobilization in Athens and made the following statement:



“The KKE will protect the poor popular strata with all its strength. This situation can no longer be tolerated, no one can live on crumbs anymore. The KKE will devote all its forces to regrouping the labour-people’s movement, to changing the correlation of forces- the very negative correlation of forces- inside the labour movement, in the trade union elections, in the political elections, against those leaderships that undermine the people’s struggle and the people’s participation. So that we can construct a large people’s social alliance against the monopolies, against their system, for radical changes and overthrows including at the level of power.”

http://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/24hr-General-Strike-We-break-the-shackles-of-contemporary-slavery/

Demonstrations of PAME: Immediate response to the anti-worker plans

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Mass demonstrations were carried out by PAME on Sunday (7/12) by PAME all over Greece as an immediate response to the new anti-worker offensive of the government and EU. The rally in Athens was held when the discussion concerning the budget was taking place in Parliament. This discussion ended and the vote was carried out later that same night. During the 3 days of debate, the MPs of the KKE exposed the anti-people nature of this budget. The parliamentary group of the KKE voted against the budget.

At the same time, the workers, the poor self-employed, the youth and women were protesting in particular about the new anti-social security measures of the government that increase the retirement age by 7 years, abolish all early retirements and condemn the younger generation to a future without pensions due to the new labour relations that prevail in the workplaces.

The GS of the CC of the KKE, D. Koutsoumpas, attended the rally and stressed the following amongst other things in his statement: “ It is unacceptable for us to live with crumbs in the year 2014, we must longer tolerate living with crumbs in the name of the humanitarian crisis. The two parties (ND and SYRIZA) are promising crumbs. There is only one solution, the development of the class struggle, the people’s alliance, a strong KKE everywhere.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU58YrsIlGo&feature=player_embedded

http://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/Demonstrations-of-PAME-Immediate-response-to-the-anti-worker-plans/

There is only one solution, the development of the class struggle, the people’s alliance, a strong KKE everywhere.

Everywhere!