Public sector workers went on strike on Thursday, August 28, protesting the new disciplinary code by the government, which intensifies the policy of criminalizing struggles and demands.
In Athens, the mobilization began with a mass rally at the Old Parliament and continued with a march towards Parliament. There, demonstrators were confronted by police forces, riot vans, and riot squads, which set up a blockade, preventing workers from heading towards the Ministry of Interior. At the same time, mobilizations also took place in other cities and regions of Greece, Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa, Crete, and elsewhere.
The new disciplinary code aims to intimidate, discipline, and silence every voice of protest, attempting to put trade union rights “in a cast.” The bill is not an isolated measure but goes hand in hand with the bill introducing the 13-hour workday, integrated into the broader plans of the war economy, which advances repression alongside the intensification of exploitation: 13-hour working days, unpaid overtime, and the deregulation of fixed working hours.
It is by no means unrelated to the current international context period of escalating rivalries, military involvement, and war preparations. The Greek government is involved in these antagonisms and wars on behalf of the bourgeoisie and the international alliances it has chosen within the EU and NATO.
Precisely for this reason, the government targets those who fight and resist this policy: workers in both the public and private sectors who oppose the government and the EU, who see every day the consequences of war, poverty, and forced migration. These consequences are borne by the working class and the people, while capital continues to profit.
The state is adapting to the war economy by serving the dirty plans of NATO, the EU, and the murderous state of Israel. They want workers to be silent, without a voice and without rights. At the same time, the people are left unprotected without healthcare, without education, defenseless in the face of natural disasters.
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