struggles in greece. strikes
Mar 18 2008 04:16
hello
I'll just make a real quick update about the situation in greece. there's a reform of the pensions, health insurance etc etc. it's a plundering really.
*there's a general strike this wednesday.
*various parts of the working people are already on strike, some for 2 weeks or so: workers in the public electricity company (there are black outs now and then all over the country). These have to defend the strike every dawn from strike-breakers
* bank workers since monday. (there's some cash sortage in the "market")
* street cleaners are on strike for two weeks or more. No garbage is collected from the streets (except from hospitals, schools etc), so by now there are hillocks of garbage in every corner. People have started to burn these during the nights. The cleaners who work under contract have returned to work, and try to collect but the strikers + people in solidarity are occupying the burial sites (scrap heaps? i don't know the word). Riot police is sent too. During a demo, these strikers started throwing garbage bags to the riot police. VIDEO . A couple of stikebreaking garbage collecting vehicles have been "immobilized". tension is rising, the government begins to lose the democratic rhetoric. There's a possibility of a so-called "political commandeering" to stop the strikers.
* some uni faculties are occupied. in the next days there will be more occupations.
* the private sector - the proles par excellance - still not on strike. it's almost impossible to strike. we'll see what happens.
edit - all strikes that i know of are union-organised.
Mar 19 2008 05:18
#2
thanks for styling it up...
where did you heard about priv sector workers?
Mar 19 2008 05:37
#3
Mar 19 2008 11:20
#4
The private sector workers stuff: they mention it on a few websites I was looking at, on the Kathimerini website here is the one that springs to mind. The Earth Times mentions it too though AP doesn't.
Anyway, cheers for the heads up.. sounds like its really kicking off over there.. 
Mar 19 2008 11:36
#5
Also, and maybe Jef can help out with this too, how comparable does this feel to the recent stuff in France over pensions..?
Mar 19 2008 12:51
#6
It sounds like it's even more divisve than in France. Here there is a general acceptance that the system 'needs reform' and that will involve worsening conditions, there is also a lot of resentment towards pampered public sector workers (mainly from private workers who didn't defend their rights and less often from new hires on worse conditions)
Greek system does sound ridiculous and complex but reforming it doesn't necessarily mean lowering conditions (although this plan obviously will do so) the French reforms are a straight out attack on conditions.
Mar 19 2008 19:30
#7
good stuff, thanks all. keep us informed
Mar 19 2008 19:48
#8
Woah, check this picture out! C'mon the bin workers!
Been reading that there were millions on strike today, sounds pretty solid. Sotev, I don't suppose you've got any more updates??
Mar 20 2008 05:38
#9
Bin collectors continue the strike on Thursday ( i think by now it's 14 or 15 days).
There's no metro, buses in athens too. Bank tellers (of the state national bank. private bank tellers work) continue the strike. there's a demo in athens called by bin collectors and other strikers in the afternoon.
journalists also strike so there's no information on what is happening whatsoever, except from sources like indymedia etc.
the demonstrations were enormous. i will post photos, info later.
We're in a breaking point now, there's a lot of frustration...
check this [http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com/]blog [/url] in english.
off to work 
Mar 20 2008 10:39
#10
wow.
Just wow.
Mar 20 2008 19:09
#11
*in athens, picket-lines were formed outside many large shops, in order to prevent them from opening. "Athens Plaza" was blockaded by PAME (unions controlled by KKE). "Public", another shop was blockaded by REPO, a workers' group in commerce, and a "workers and jobless Assembly". photos.
A courier from bookstore "Protoporia" (ie "avant-garde") was fired because he joined the strike, there was a blockade by 60 or so strikers in solidarity. other actions like this took place.
*in thessaloniki students from the university occupations occupied from 8.30pm to 11pm (the demonstrations started at 12pm) the uni administration building, making employees who didnt strike there walk out. The electricity in the administration building was shut down by the occupying students, as an action of solidarity to the strikers in the public electricity company.
*in thessaloniki protesters, mostly autonomes, threw garbage bags into large shops or private banks of the city center that were open (ie. the employees couldn't go on strike). They also threw red paint onto the Bank of Greece. photos
the graffitis read
"You shouldn't be afraid to go on strike
You should be afraid of the strikers"
"Pension Reform,
we're coming for "dialog" "
* in athens skirmishes broke out ( photos), and the police attacked using teargas, asphyxiating chemicals, and rubber bullets.
ps. i will be editing this to add more. still, there's no tv/radio/newspaper news. all this is gathered from imc, phonecalls, or my being on the spot...
Mar 20 2008 20:17
#12
great stuff sotev thanks for letting us know
Mar 25 2008 00:52
#13
I was looking up info on the strikes and I came across this from a Greek travel service. I found it pretty entertaining...
Quote:
Strikes in GreeceI certainly can understand your concerns. Big demonstrations and strikes can, indeed, be something to consider before getting on a plane that will take you right into the middle of it. But, unlike many other countries, Greece is not a country where such events will affect you or your family as in countries like Korea or some of the Central American countries. The Greeks are a very mild mannered and peaceful type of people who have developed their own "democratic" style of demonstrating and striking.
Some of the typical characteristics of the "Greek style" are the following:
a. Demonstrations are almost always non-violent where people often bring their small children along on nice warm and sunny days.
b. Strikes are never sudden or surprise last resort union tactics. When any union decides to go on strike, the public is given at least 10 days or more advance notice of their intent to strike.
c. Strikes are not real strikes in that they aren't continuous as they are done in other countries. Rather, Greek Unions will simply announce that they are going to be on a "24 hour strike" on a specific day. Typically they choose a Tuesday or a Thursday. The next day everybody goes back to work as usual. ( I never could understand how they expect to get their employers to come to the negotiating table when they only use this "Greek Style" of striking, but I guess it must somehow work because they usually come to a compromise on the issues within a relatively short period of time.)
As I hope you can see, there really isn't any reason to cancel your trip to Greece. You would only be depriving yourself of a pleasant and relaxing vacation in a place with so much to offer. It would surely be a regretful decision.
Yesterday we had a wonderful 24 hour nation wide strike. It was great!!! I secretly wish they would do it more often. My reasons are somewhat selfish:
1. There was absolutely NO traffic in the morning when I drove into Athens (No buses or taxis) and there was absolutely NO traffic going home after work.
2. Besides the Cell Phone business I also have a Carpet Store in the Plaka area of Athens and business was never better. (This was due to the fact that all the tourists couldn't go to the Acropolis or the Museums and so they all devoted the day to "shopping" which was a very profitable decision for me.)Of course, many tourists were disappointed that they couldn't visit the Acropolis and some of the other sites and because their itineraries weren't flexible they won't be able to do their Athens site seeing at all. This was certainly unfortunate for them, but most people did allow themselves some flexibility and are up on the Acropolis today.
Hopefully you will agree with me and come on over to Greece as scheduled.
Regards from sunny, calm, and "not to worry" Athens
Mar 26 2008 12:09
#14
fucking hell that is pretty damning.
well found.
Mar 27 2008 06:20
#15
well, one more update, in the usual jumbled manner
* most strikes ended
* the bank workers @ Bank of Greece still on strike. there are cash shortages, which is ok - but some bosses in priv sector refuse payment, grounding it on the cash shortage
*most lawyers still on strike.
* OTE workers (OTE is the national telephone/communications company) went on strike against the privatization of the company - the government seems to be on a roll as far as privatizations and reforms go. The struggle is a defensive one, one could even say reactionary - one of their slogans is "OTE is and must remain a greek company". anyways
* I said before one courier got fired from Protoporia bookstore because he went on strike. There were blockages from 2 base unions (couriers and workers in bookstores). well, protoporia was forced to reemploy the striker.
* the pension law was to be voted in the parliament last thursday. Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA, opposition) -it's a coalition of eurocommunists, trotskyists, M-L, etc etc-, utilizing something from the COnstitution, asked for a Referendum. After that, PaSok (Socialists, major opposition party) joined in, along with the "LAOS" opposition party which is in the far right. So, all the parliament opposition parties, from far right to radical left, ask for a referendum on the pension law. Won't happen, but the voting of the law is put back till next tuesday i think.
The end result? GSEE and ADEDY went on propagandizing the referendum instead of proclaiming again a general strike. democracy isolates proletarians qua citizens etc etc.
* GSEE and ADEDY made the biennal collective agreement... minimum day-wage in greece is 29,39EU, it will become 33,04EU.
3,45% raise from 1/1/2008, 3% again from 1/9/2008 and a 5,5%raize in 1/5/2009. so it's a 12,4 raise altogether. Still, it's almost impossible to live alone, if you are on rent.
*yesterday, on wednersday, there was a 200 people strong demo in athens (most if not all were politicos, leftist, anarchists), and a 100 or 150 strong demo in thessaloniki...
so, unless something completely out of the blue happens, this is the end, again.
Cheers for the info Sotev! I've put together an article for the news section here -> http://libcom.org/news/greece-heading-towards-general-strike-18032008
I read that private sector workers are also going on strike in some news stories. Is that right? If they are, is that a new development?
Anyway, if you get any more updates then keep us posted. Do you know how to add news? Just click here if you need to -> http://libcom.org/node/add/news