Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Massive strike in Greece: Thousands took the streets against anti-Social Security reforms

Photo: 902.gr.
With powerful strike demonstrations in more than 60 cities across Greece the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) and the class movement of the country gave a militant response to the government’s anti-people policy on Social Security and pensions. 

From midnight workers gathered in factories, labour places and production units to prevent possible strikebreaking efforts, while in Athens public transportation was stopped. 

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Athens participating in a massive rally against the government-employers’ policy against Social Security. The rally began from Propylea and ended in Syntagma Square, where the protesters sent a powerul message of struggle against the anti-Social Security "Katrougalos-Vroutsis" law of ND government. 

“The fight we are giving is a fight of hope, it is related to the needs of our class and we will continue for as long as it takes” underlined Nikos Mavrokefalos, member of the EC of PAME, during his speech. 

Numerous trade unions and labour centers from Europe sent messages of solidarity to the Strike, highlighting the need of a coordinated and organized response of the workers and the people against the anti-Social Security policies that are being implemented throughout the European Union. 


The General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas, who participated in the demonstration, made the following statement to reporters: “The New Democracy government will pay dearly the further demolition of the social security system, like PASOK and SYRIZA paid before it. Because the Greek people do not forget, they organize and win”. 

In Thessaloniki, the country’s second largest city, thousands of demonstrators marched in the city’s streets and reached the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace and subsequently the Labour Center where they shouted slogans against the employers-governmental trade unionism. 

Similar demonstrations took place in numerous Greek cities including Patras, Piraeus, Larisa, Alexandroupolis, Chania, Serres and elsewhere.