Europe: General strike in Greece
By Celeste Murillo
Thursday, October 23, 2008
In Greece, on Tuesday, October 21, a 24-hour general strike in which millions of workers from the public and private sector participated, took place against the bailout announced for the banks, costing millions, against privatizing the state-owned Olympic Airlines, and to demand wage raises.
In Greece, on Tuesday, October 21, a 24-hour general strike in which millions of workers from the public and private sector participated, took place against the bailout announced for the banks, costing millions, against privatizing the state-owned Olympic Airlines, and to demand wage raises.
Most of the economic and transportation activities of the country were paralyzed because of the action by the workers, who responded unanimously to the call from the General Federation of Workers and the Civil Servants Union, that, between them, represent 2,500,000 workers, half of the country’s workforce.
The strike affected both public transportation in the cities and air traffic, which caused the cancellation of 200 domestic and international flights in a single day. There was no activity in the ports, and the state railway company suspended almost all services; the electric and suburban trains and the trolleybuses did not run either. Public offices, post offices, schools, universities and hospitals were closed; hospitals were on duty for emergency cases only. According to the unions, compliance with the strike was massive: 90% of workers participated in the action.
In Athens, 15,000 people marched to the government palace to oppose conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’ privatization plans. The police blocked the way of the demonstrators, and clashes occurred. Thousands of young people and workers participated in the march with signs that showed the Greek people were fed up with watching the government bail out the banks while a large part of the population is suffering the consequences of the economic crisis.
The strike demanded a wage raise at the same time that it asked the government to increase social spending to help working-class families that are already suffering the results of the economic crisis. Another one of the slogans was rejection of privatizing the state-owned Olympic Airlines and rejection of the already unpopular plans to reform the retirement system. The protests continued on Wednesday, October 22, and the unions and other organizations announced that they are going to intensify the actions if the government fails to back down.
This week, the Greek parliament was supposed to discuss the 2009 budget and look for ways to reduce the deficit, that already brought Greece to the attention of EU, because it exceeded the deficit allowed the countries of the Eurozone. For this, the government is planning a series of privatizations, including that of the state-owned airline, cutting the budget for social programs and reforming retirements and pensions.
Faced with protests and the unpopularity of the government, Costas Karamanlis has promised wage compensations and measures to alleviate the rise in prices. So far, the main expenditure announced by the government was the promise of the Finance Minister, George Alogoskoufis, to pay out 28 billion euros to support the banks of Greece. Meanwhile, one out of every five Greeks is already living beneath the poverty line, according to official data. The first consequences of the crisis and its impact on the daily life of millions of workers could impoverish millions more.
The recent general strike and the struggles that have taken place in the country during the last two years (including the March 2006 general strike and the big student mobilizations in March 2007) show that the workers and the Greek people are not prepared to pay for the crisis of the capitalists.
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