In December there was a massive general strike in Greece with huge participation both in the public and private sectors. This is less than two years into the right-wing New Democracy government. The strike was against a new bill affecting workers’ rights. A militant mood is once more growing among Greek workers and it is destined to get stronger in the coming period.
Events in Greece are especially relevant to the British
Labour Movement because right wing
PASOK (Socialist Party) leader Simitis is pursuing similar
policies to those of Tony Blair
and so-called "New Labour." This has led to an
explosion of anger, not only on
the streets, but in the trade unions and in PASOK itself. The
PASOK union leaders were
pro-Simitis one year ago, but now they have been forced
into semi-opposition. Under
pressure from below, they called a one-day general strike
on April the 8th. Alan Woods
reports.
Konstatin Simitis--the Greek Tony Blair--is a worried man.
Elected after the death of
Andreas Papandreu less than two years ago as leader of the
Greek socialist party (PASOK)
under the banner of "modernisation" he had
70% of public opinion behind him. Now
it has dropped to 18%. The streets of Athens (congested at
the best of times) are
regularly blocked with demonstrations of angry
bankworkers, airline employees and
teachers. The premises of the Ionian bank, which the
government wants to privatise, are
occupied by the workers and covered with black flags. Alan
Woods reports from Greece.
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