The National Workers’ Federation in Food-Drink Industries held a National Strike on Thursday, March 29, in the Milk, Food and Beverages sector for the signing of Collective Agreements with increases in wages. The struggle of the strike began on Wednesday night with strike picket lines in a number of industries (like Coca-Cola) all over Greece
Strike rallies took place in the workplaces of Central Macedonia, Thessaloniki and Imathia, Patras, Ioannina, Arta, Trikala, Heraklion and Evia – Viotia in the morning, while in Athens, a mobilization took place at the Labor Ministry and the Industrialists Association offices.
The Federation welcomed the workers and the Unions that gave the fight for the success of strike, but also the workers who wanted and tried to take a step forward but did not succeed. Also welcomed the Unions and Federations of other sectors expressing their solidarity, but also the WFTU and the Trade Unions of other countries that expressed their solidarity.
The Federation stated that the strike sent a message to the Industrialists and the government that the workers are not accepting starvation wages and cuts in their rights. The Federation also referred to the measures taken by the employers in the last period, trying to undermine the strike, by trying to prevent trade unionists from entering workplaces by trying to add extra production days as in some factories, and also slandering the strike with arguments that the strike “does not concern the workers”, that “companies can not give wage raises because they have no profits” etc. The Federation also pointed out that the employers in their tactics had an ally in the trade-unionism of GSEE and other Unions affiliated to ETUC.
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