[DEBATE] : (Fwd) Greece general strike report-back

[Patrick Bond]

From: yannisalmpanis at hotmail.com
To: fse-esf at lists.fse-esf.org
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:50:28 +0100
Subject: [fse-esf] what a day!

One of the biggest general strikes took place yesterday in Greece 
against the goverment's reforms on the insurance system. With un 
unprecedentent level of participation (almost 100% in public sector and 
for the first time after many years with significant participation in 
private sector) the workers rejected the goverment's neoliberal plans. 
No planes landed in Athens for 24 hours, no news broadcast, no public 
transport (at the exception of the underground which facilitated the 
demonstrators to arrive at the meeting point). About 150.000 peole 
demonstrated in the streets of Athens against the reduction of pensions 
and the ιncrease of the working years. In every Greek city there were 
demonstrations as big (and even bigger) as the February 15 2003 demos. 
Even the trade unionists of the Right participated in the mobilization.


http://athe ns.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=803779 
<http://http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=803779>

Besides the insurance issue, it was also raised the issue od Olympic 
Airlines. The goverment and the EU have decided to shut down Olympic and 
to create a new smaller company (EL Al model) in which the workers will 
have less rights. After that, the new company is going to be privatized. 
This is going to have very negative effects on the connections to the 
small islands (The air connection to the small islands is not profitable 
but vital for the local societies. Only a public company can guarantee 
such connections).

http://www.indy.gr/newswire/foto-apo-tin-poreia-gia-to-asfalistiko-stin-athna

The goverment took also the provocative decision to une the the 
"traffic" cameras in order to film the demonstrators. Trade unions and 
the Left strongly protested aganis this "Big Brother" style decis ion. 
Wokers of the electrisity company made an action against the cameras. 
Two of these trade unionists were arrested afetr the end of the demo. 
They were finally released but they are facing charges.

http://www.indy.gr/newswire/i-genop-dei-moytzoyrnei-kameres-foto

To be continued...