The workers in the “Greek Steelworks” plant destroyed the plans of the employer and continue fighting using other forms of struggle.

TheGreek steelworkers enterthe main gate of the plant towork following a 9-month strike (272 days).

Theyconduct a rally, lift their fists and hold carnations in their hands. They implementthe decision of their 20th General Assembly, which tookplace on Saturday. Theassembly statedthat they will resume work and continue their struggle using other forms. Thus, they once again destroyed theplans of the industrialist Manesis, who made it clear that he wished thedegradation of the strike andthe dismantling of thetrade union. In this he was fully supported by the government, which put in theindustrialist’s service the state repression machine.

Thestrickers,along with all the members of the trade union board of the “Greek Steelworks”headed by the president of the trade union Giorgos Sifonios entered the gate ina coordinated and organized manner as true winners of the 9-month strike. Priorto this the employer posed outrageous offensive demands, using the riot policeforces. He demanded that the workers entered the factory one by one, showing tothe police their identity cards and having to wait for the permission of theemployer to enter the territory of the factory. The decisiveness of thesteelworkers forced the employer to yield. The riot police forces as well as the remaining policeforces were withdrawn and the workers entered the factory on their own andheaded to their posts applauded and cheered by those present: “this 9-monthstrike will not be forgotten”,“The steel is hardened by blood and sweat, the steelworkers will notsurrender”, “struggle, rupture, overthrow, the steelworkers lead the way”.

Theproposal to suspend the strike and continue fighting by using other forms of struggle was posedunanimously by the board of the trade union. It was presented by the presidentof the board, Giorgos Sifonios and adopted by the vastmajority of the assembly. The report stated:

“272 days ago,when Manesis blackmailed us forcing us to choose eithera 5hour workday or 180 dismissals we held an assembly and unanimously decidedto go on strike. We did what every honest worker who esteems himself and hisclass should do. Noneof us could foretell then that we set upon a struggle that would come to be oneof the brightest of the labour movement of our country and internationally,that would become a benchmark. (…) Inconclusion, we would never have managed this, if we did not tame our fear, ifwe did not fight unitary and decisively.

Ouraction was rich. We organized 20General Assemblies ofthe Union, where we collectively assessed the situation and decided upon ournext steps. Alongside the trade union board we formed committees helping tolift the level of organization, the safeguarding, the propaganda and thesolidarity. All the members of our families participated in the struggle, bothwomen and children. We addressed the working class, the toiling people andasked them to support our struggle. We fueled an unprecedented solidaritymovement from every corner of Greece andfrom many countries worldwide. We organized more than 50 activities, meetings, concerts, bookpresentations, activities for children and women in front of the plant. Wecelebrated together Christmas, the New Year’s Eve, Carnival and Easter. Throughour struggle we became “one family”, as workers should be. Thousands of workerscame to the gates of the “GreekSteelworks” factory,young people, pensioners, pupils, students, workers from all over the world.Our strike became a school of class education and awakening. Our strugglecrossed the gatesof the “GreekSteelworks” factoryand reached the whole world. We addressed tens of factories in Attica and other cities. All overGreece as well asin tens of cities abroad there were held hundreds of meetings and solidarityactions. We initiated the organization ofa series of solidarity strikes in the broader region of the plant, Thriasio, inAttica, in Volos(the region of the other two plants of the group of “Greek Steelworks”) in order to better organize theresistance of the workers at workplaces. Our strike inspired workers, youth andstudents to struggle. We have received hundreds of touching solidarity letterssent to us by pupils. Poems and songs were written about us and it is certainthat much more will be written in the future. People will read about ourstruggle, they will discuss it and sing about it years to come.

Itsrich experience and conclusions will be used in future struggles. This is why its input is vast. There arepeople that are well-meaning and others that are prejudiced who raisethequestion: “What is the outcome of this struggle?”, “What have steelworkersgained, since their demands were not satisfied?”. We say: “The answer is simple”.No past struggle nor future oneshad or will haveguaranteed results, there can be no impeccable calculation of the odds. Thereare no such struggles in life. They merely exist such inthe minds of the bureaucrats, those who have settled those who are scared and thosewho compromise.

The outcome of a struggle isnot judged merely by the material gains. There arestruggles resulting in much more than those, since they pave the way for thenext steps, for the next struggles of the working class as a whole. Theysignificantly contribute to the general awakening, to the repulse of terrorism,they become benchmarks. Such is the strike of the steelworkers and we shouldevaluate it as such. This is how all the workers think of it and this is whythey have considered us alreadyas winners.

Whathave we achievedthrough our struggle? Ourstruggle put in the forefront the strength and the value of the united classstruggle, the greatness and the strength of workers’ solidarity. It showed themerits and the good traditions of the labour and people’s movements of our country, as well as thesteel, disciplined, vanguard characteristics of industrial workers. It tamedthe fear, the audacity of the employers, it stroke a blow against fatalism andmoaning. It caused a severe blow to the so-called realism, the compromisedstance of the employer-led and government trade unionism, to the so calledsocial dialogue. It demonstrated vividly who produce the wealth and who steal it.

Atthe gate of the “GreekSteelworks” factorythe clash of the twoopposing classes, of the two opposing worlds and civilizations was vividly demonstrated. On theone hand the class of Manesis, with its government, its state and judicialsystem, its means of propaganda and its people in trade unions. On the otherhand the steelworkers, their class, the solidarity and support of the classlabour movement and its allies.

Noneof our opponents nor Manesis, nor the government, nor the employer-led andgovernment trade unionism expected us to be as strong. They underestimated us,they thought we were inferior, frightened, submissive and they have beentotally proven wrong.They also tried to discredit the efforts of thousands of workers to support ourstruggle materially by saying that “we get paid to strike”. They tried to namebribing the workers’ solidarity offers, collected from the meager means of theworking class in order for us and our families to be able to withstand. Theyfailed, because our great struggle cannot be slandered. We have prevailed, such is our conclusion! We have prevailed because wewere right and united. They did not manage to divide us, no matter how hardthey have tried, because we worked based on the principle “one for all, all forone”.Because we fought and at the same time safeguarded our struggle.

Ithas been proven in the best way who produces the wealth and whose hands holdthe power, “without us no cog can turn”…

Wehave achieved somethingthat 9 months ago would have seemed unbelievable.Workers went on strike for 9 month in order their colleagues no to be laid off.The laid off workerswent on strike for 9 months in order to be reinstated at work. That has neverhappened before. Finally, the opponentdid not manage to beat us and was forced to shed the mask of “democracy anddialogue, to shed the sheepskin” and show his real face, the face of a tyrant,of an enemy of the workers. They were forced to put aside all the pretexts andresort to their final weapon, the repressive mechanisms. Today this weaponexceeds our forces.

Allthe state apparatus, the government, the parties of the capital, the classjudicial system, the mass media, tens of riotpolice forces’ buses,tens of police cars and hundreds of secret police officers were coordinated inorder to protect their boss, Manesis and to strike a blow against theirenemies, the workers strikers. They assaulted us who feed them with our sweatall these years.

Manesis will soon bring back tothe table the demands to change the working hours andthe salaries that are defined by our collectiveagreement. He has withdrawn them temporarily due to the strike. The opponentknows this. They know that the struggle will not stop along with the strike. Hetakes measures in order to face us in the time to come.

Wecan deal with the new situation as we have dealt with the rest of the hardturns of our struggle. United, collectively and led by the board of our tradeunion. The opponent tries to prevent this in order to act freely in the future.Taking into account the new situation and the need to continue struggling in anorganized andcoordinated manner theboard of the tradeunion proposes the suspension of thisform of struggle.

Wereturn to work by our own decision and will, in an organized, coordinated manner, holding ourheads high. We rely on our tested tradeunion and continue by using different forms of struggle. We will continuefighting for the satisfaction of our demands. In order our 40 dismissed colleagues to be immediatelyrehired and therest of our colleagues to be reinstated in due course. Until then no otherpeople apart from our dismissed colleaguesshould be hired. All together theboard, the women’s committee, the committee of dismissed colleagues we continuefighting around issues concerning the loans of our colleagues from banks, ourunpaid bills, our problemsto have access to medicines,healthcare services and more. We are vigilant and ready to react immediatelyand to struggle, in case the employer demands once again a change in theworking hours and salaries. We will use all our means in order to investigatethe reported existence of radioactive materials which use the “Greek Steelworks” as was revealedrecently in Volos plantof “Greek Steelworks”. We will use all legal means in order to solve theseissues.

We thank from the bottom of ourhearts all the workers in Greece and all over theworld who for 9 months supported our struggle morally and materially. We wouldespecially like to thank PAME (All Workers’ Militant Front) that helped usthroughout our struggle, day and night, and will continuesupporting us in the future. It supported in practice all our decisions andinitiatives, it spread the message of the heroic steelworkers all over Greeceandacross the world. This is why the opponent slanders it and fights it on a dailybasis.

Itturned out that we became the vanguard of the struggle. But we are not flying into clouds,since we understand that a small fraction of the working class, as we are,cannot fight all the state apparatus and drastically change the situation,if all the working classwill not follow the path of the steelworkers, if the overall political balanceof forces in the working class movementdoes not change.

Dear Colleagues,

Already, ourstruggle has made a great contribution. Our children will hold their heads highand will be proud that their fathers and mothers fulfilled their duty. They didnot surrender; they disregarded theintimidation and threats of the employer. They did not bow theirhead down and struggled for a better future for theirchildren. The next generations will admire our struggle and talk about it, itwill inspire them as an example. We return to work with our head held high andcontinue fighting for the satisfaction of our demands, using other formsof struggle.

Long live the heroic struggleof the steelworkers!

Long live the working class!

Long live the workers’solidarity!

The struggle will continue tillthe final victory!”

Inits statement the Executive Secretariatof PAME underlines that: “the seeds that the steelworkers have planted willblossom in future struggles that will spring in the time to come, as a new storm of anti-labourmeasures is approaching. Each moment of this nine month struggle was animportant lesson for the working class, it enabled it to come up to usefulconclusions concerning class struggle.

It taught heroism andself-sacrifice! It showed the nature of class solidarity! It revealed thecontent of the multi-level confrontation! It showcased the necessity of theorganized struggle! It revealed the unceasing struggle between capital andwaged labour. Thestruggle of the steelworkers temporarily stopped the implementation of thegeneral plans of the industrialists. The strike begun at a time when in the drawers of a series offactories lay orders to impose employment by rotation with flexible shifts and other general measures. It proved that only class struggle,confrontation with the employers, the government and the imperialistorganizations can lead to such struggle. The struggle of steelworkerschallenged the so called realism of the employer-led and government tradeunionism. In these conditions it pressed employer-led Federations and Labourcentres to call for strikes and work stoppages. We are proud of thesteelworkers and those who supported them. The fist that they held high fornine months represents the strength of the forthcoming struggles. The GeneralAssembly of the steelworkers’ trade union deemed that the time has come toconclude this great strike.

Thosewho pretended to be fighters and who tried to extinguish the radical spirit inthe workers’ consciousness tried all this time to find blemishes in the strike,they tried to isolate and slander the steelworkers’ trade union. Now they try to presentthemselves as Christ’s prophets and critics. However, the struggle is not aclock that ticks and tells you what will become in the next second.

Thestruggle of the steelworkers showed that when the working class decides tostand tall, the cogs of exploitation cease to turn. When the furnace remainscold, each and every Manesis becomes “a null”. The struggle showed theincessant and hidden powerof the workers thatis revealed when they believe in their strength and decide to start aconfrontation. Life itself has placed this struggle amongst the bright and hardclass battles. It is a pebble in the incessant struggle of workers againsttheir exploiters” concludes PAME’s statement.