GREECE: Great Strike Wave in Preparation for National General Strike

A massive wave strike rose on Wednesday, October 23 and flooded Athens, Piraeus and major Greek cities.

Maritime workers, Teachers, Dockers, Metalworkers, Workers in Hotels, Tourism, Catering, delivery were on strike demanding Collective Contracts with better wages as well as Health and Safety regulations at work.

Teachers National Strike

The School Teachers National Strike took place against the Ministry of Education attempt to ban the strike through court order the declared the strike ILLEGAL.

Against these tactics the Teachers, with the solidarity of all unions, went on strike escalating it also the level of High schools.

In practice, against the Ministry’s intimidations and bans all first and second level education went on Strike with the teachers rally in Athens being one of the most massive of the last years.

Piraeus Port

Maritime workers, dockers and Metalworkers of the Shipyards held a massive strike which held a protest at the Maritime Ministry. After the Ministry refused to accept the workers’ demands the unions moved to OCCUPY the Ministry and extend their strike on October 24. Maritime workers decided to extend their strike to 48 hours on October 24-25.

Hotel-Tourism Workers

Major Hotels of Athens shut down during the National Strike of Hotel Tourism Workers who demand Collective Contract with better wages. The workers held massive picket lines in front of the hotels and marched to the Ministry of Labor and the Hotel Owners Association. Big Hotels had to announce inability to serve due to the strike.

PAME noted

A big strike river started in the morning, from the port of Piraeus and flooded Athens and other cities of the country. Maritime workers in the shipping industry, dockers in the port of Piraeus, metalworkers in the Shipbuilding Zone, thousands of hotel workers, teachers, kindergarten teachers and High school teachers all over Greece took the baton from the delivery riders and health workers. They are passing the baton to the next sectors that follow, such as the Construction workers, but again to the Riders, and together they are strengthening the front of the workers in the strike escalation to paralyze the country on November 20, in the NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE, with the slogan ‘Out of the war slaughterhouses, give money for wages, health and education‘ “.

“The government is worried and we will see to it that its worry becomes real fear from the rise of demands. Within a few days it has tried to criminalise and cancel decisions on three strike actions. Of train drivers demanding safety measures on rail transport, of mental health workers demanding that the bill to dismantle Health and Rehabilitation facilities be cancelled, and yesterday of teachers and kindergarten teachers demanding pay rises and modern infrastructure for themselves and their students. The government was left with the court decisions in hand! Everyone in the unions – everyone in the struggle. All in the GENERAL STRIKE on 20 November