April 17 Greece National Strike a Massive New Step For Wage Increases

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With Massive and militant rallies all over Greece thousands of workers demanded Collective Contracts with wage increases, measures against inflation, disengagement from the imperialist wars and crimes. Special was the message of solidarity with the heroic people of Palestine.

PAME welcomes the great participation of the workers in the big strike of April 17, the massive strike rallies all over the country, the thousands of strikers in the public sector against the strike-breaking decision of ADEDY-ETUC affiliate.

We especially salute the striking workers of LARCO Industry who have been fighting for their jobs, their lives, their families, for LARCO to be open and their jobs to be secured.

The strike showed the power of the organized workers who are suffering from the waves of inflation, from the attack on workers’ income and labor rights.

Now is the time to further strengthen the demanding struggle for signing collective agreements, for wage increases against the government’s crumbs, employers’ violence, and intimidations.

The strike succeeded against the undermining tactics against it by the trade union forces of the New Democracy, PASOK, SYRIZA, New Left in ADEDY who voted against the strike, just as the same factions in the GSEE voted against it in the previous strike on 28 February, trying to split the strike front. Once again they confirmed their role as the steady support of the Mitsotakis government.

The workers we continue forward with an organized struggle for what determines our lives. We hold into account the business groups and employers’ associations, the government, the EU and its directives. We move aside, the trade union forces that get in the way of struggle, we change the correlations.

With our struggles in every sector, in the factories and in every workplace, we can force the government, every employer and their forces to retreat.

We strengthen the struggle to disengage our country from the two simultaneous war fronts in Ukraine and the Middle East. We demand the immediate return of all military-naval forces from outside the country’s borders and the frigate HYDRA.  We express our firm solidarity with the Palestinian people who are fighting the battle of survival against the murderous state of Israel.

We call for participation in the 41st Marathon Peace March that will take place on 21 April, starting from the Marathon Mound and the big gathering outside the Ministry of National Defence. This year’s marathon peace march coincides with PAME’s trade union delegation to Belgrade for the 25th anniversary of the bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO.

We support and participate massively in the workers’ – people’s Run of struggle co-organised by the Regional Trade Union Centres of Athens and Piraeus on 28 April, which is dedicated to the 200 executed communists by the NAZIs on May Day 44. The race will start from the building of the executed BLOK-15 within the “KARAISKAKI A” Camp of Haidari at 8 am and the finish will be at the place of executions, at the monument of Kaisariani.

With our struggles in every sector, in the factories and in every workplace, to force the government, every employer and their forces to retreat, strengthening everywhere the struggle demanding increases in wages and social benefits.

We escalate our struggle on May Day, at the trade unions’ strike rallies, against the government and its attempt to cancel the strike front. May Day is a strike, not a holiday, and will take place as usual on 1 May.

Now it is necessary for the workers to get rid of fear, to step forward for their lives!

Photos https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBmH95

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