On April 2013, three supervisors-goons of a strawberry farm in Manolada (a small provincial town located 292 km from Athens) opened fire on dozens of foreign workers from Bangladesh, who protested angered because they demanded to be paid for the their work! At least 34 workers were wounded by gunfire.
PAME was from the beginning alongside the laborers in Manolada, as in other similar events, since the problem of overexploitation of workers who are uprooted from their homelands and become cheap labor force in Europe is very sharpened in Greece with hundreds of cases where the employers exploit immigrant workers brutally while cultivating xenophobia and racism.
PAME has highlighted the issue and fought alongside them to provide accrued, improve working conditions, and to raise wages. The unions that rally with PAME, are fighting in the line of unity of the working class, irrespective of religion, language, country of origin. The work on the immigrants joining the unions is tied to the work with the Greek workers to understand the immigration problem, its causes, its solution, to face xenophobia and racism, the poison that is cultivated also by the criminal-fascist organization Golden Dawn.
The Regional Trade Union Center of Amaliada that has Manolada in its are, organised on September 28th, a seminar on this issue, with the topic “Immigrants: Duties and obligations of the trade union movement”
The Seminar was attended by trade unionists from Regional Trade Unions of the Peloponese, Western Greece and the Islands of Kefalonia and Ithaki.
The main Speaker was the President of the RTUC of Amaliada and was followed by intervention on the issues of:
-
The legal framework for migrants in Greece and the EU in the wake of the judgment on the events of Manolada
-
Social integration of immigrants: In the guidelines of the EU and the exploiters or in the struggle for the right of workers?
-
Immigrants: Poverty, living and working conditions, factors determining their health
-
Education of migrant children.
PAME demands for the migrant laborers of Manolada:
-
• To provide them residence permits.
-
• In case of any employer arbitrariness and terror against immigrant workers, to be given as a direct measure the special permit provided for in Article 44 of Law. 3907/2011.
-
• Daily paying day labor, according to the working hours, which may not exceed eight and should be reduced in case of high temperatures, as applicable in other sectors.
-
• Membership in the Institute of Social Security workers, since they provide an employment and not OGA (farmers insurance fund)
-
• Decent pay, at least equal to the wage of an unskilled laborer.
-
• Mandatory provision of at least one day off a week.
-
• Full implementation of the labor law to laborers and control by local Labour Inspectorates.
-
• Comprehensive medical and insurance coverage for all.
-
• Signing of bilateral agreements with all the countries of origin for the transfer of insurance rights.
-
• Checking of work by occupational physicians, at least once a month.
-
• Ensure the employers and government agencies adequate and healthy living space and regular control of the Medical Committee.
-
• Care for the children of farm workers, ensuring free access to nurseries, schools, hospitals and health centers for preventive vaccinations
The seminar highlighted the need for diverse and daily activities of trade unions for the unity of the working class, regardless of race and ethnicity. The working class has one enemy, the exploiters and against them our action must be targeted, overcoming fears and prejudices. The reconstruction of a mass labour movement, which puts obstacles to the unpopular policies and achieves gains will need massive participation of the migrant workers who face even more brutal exploitation, sharpened unemployment and also the fear of deportation. The forces of PAME will take more initiatives for the protection of migrant workers and ask them to massively take part in the rallies across Greece on October 4 and the Nationwide rally of PAME in Athens on November 1st.
