Athens braced for 'mother of all strikes'

[seafan]

Source: UK Guardian

.....

As one Greek daily warned of "the mother of all strikes" and the country appeared to edge closer to chaos with rubbish piling up in the street and ministers locked out of their offices, 5,000 riot police were rushed to the capital in preparation for the protests.

"All of Athens will be flooded with protestors. These will be the biggest protests that Greece has ever seen," said Ilias Illiopoulos, who heads the union of public sector employees, Adedy.
"The ability of the people to tolerate policies that have only yielded poverty and despair has come to an end."

Amid mounting anger over cuts that have pared back wages, pensions and workers' rights and sent taxes and inflation soaring, unions representing more than half Greece's 5 million workers said they would forge ahead with a 48-hour general strike beginning Wednesday.

The industrial action, which coincides with what the beleaguered prime minister George Papandreou has called "the most critical week" for the country, comes in the wake of often violent protest rallies and rolling campaigns of walkouts as workers from rubbish collectors to judges, seamen to school teachers, transport employees to journalists have stepped up their resistance to the ruling socialists' reforms.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/18/greece-awaits-mother-of-all-strikes

---

"The ability of the people to tolerate policies that have only yielded poverty and despair has come to an end."


Think the oligarchs over here would notice a 48-hour general strike?


This is going global.

[closeupready]

1. These events are reminding me of 1990-91.

K&R

[Tansy_Gold]

2. Is it just me? Or do these "ruling socialists"

seem to be not very socialist at all?


Just wonderin'.



TG

[TBF]

6. Bingo ...

nt

[StarsInHerHair]

11. it's been a world-wide pattern, Obama doesn't seem very Lefty, the UK party

doing their Hooverism is supposed to be the party FOR the people, same as in Greece.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I don't regard 48 hours as being the mother of all strikes.

.

[elleng]

4. For cultural and economic reasons, imo, Greece has unusual

and unusually difficult problems. It differs from OWS, imo, but aggravates global situation.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/110923/greeks-wrestle-national-debt

[TBF]

8. Owners v. workers is pretty simple ... only gets complicated for apologists. nt

[elleng]

9. ...

:thumbsdown:

[TBF]

10. Perspective for those siding with the status quo -

It is coming here too and I fully expect many on DU to side with the oppressors. But for those who are in solidarity with workers, as I am, the clarity from KKE may be nice to read.


http://inter.kke.gr/News/news2011/2011-10-17-pb/

Down with the government and the parties of the plutocracy

Radical overturning of the balance of forces in favour of the KKE

Working class-popular organization and alliance everywhere

There is a solution for the people with workers’-people’s power and disengagement from the EU-cancellation of the debt

The war against the rights and life of the people, which the KKE had predicted and warned of in a timely fashion, is fully underway and escalating. There is no time to lose.

The KKE calls the people in a militant and political alliance to block and overthrow the policies which will lead them and their children to live for decades in the most bleak misery with starvation wages, unemployment, insecurity, without basic rights, in order to protect the profits and interests of the business groups from their crisis and the state bankruptcy which is necessary for them.

What is needed now is popular emancipation, awakening and organization against our common implacable enemies, the government of the plutocracy, its other parties and its international allies, the EU and the IMF. People’s organization, the struggle and the forms of struggle must correspond to the ferocity of the all-sided and merciless offensive of capital.

In order for the barbaric measures to be impeded, the moment of the overthrow and the people’s victory to happen sooner, in every workplace, sector and neighbourhood there must now be raised a strong labour-people’s movement and a people’s front must be formed which will pose the following issues here and now:

An end to sacrifices for the crisis and the profitability of the plutocracy.
Down with the government, down with the parties that sacrifice the people to save capital and the European Union.
Modern labour-popular rights. The working class and people must own the wealth they produce, with popular power, withdrawal from the EU and the cancellation of the debt.

No referendum must be accepted now. It will be a trap, with whatever excuse and whatever pretext the government attempts to carry it out. Its goal is to show that the people support or tolerate its policies. No to the referendum, elections must be held.

[elleng]

12. B.S. NO siding with oppressors here; you do NOT KNOW ME.

Some facts about Greece's culture and resultant problems:

Public Sector Employment in Greece – Myths and Realities

http://www.philip-atticus.com/2011/09/public-sector-employment-in-greece.html

Greek Wealth Is Everywhere but Tax Forms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/world/europe/02evasion.html?pagewanted=all

Quelle Surprise! Greece is REALLY REALLY Bad at Collecting Taxes!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/world/europe/02evasion.html?pagewanted=all

[TBF]

14. I don't have to "know" someone to recognize propaganda and support for PASOK. nt

[Little Tich]

15. Interesting link, but I must disagree with you.

The solutions presented on the KKE website don't seem to be particularly feasible. I do however support the proposal of the EU Commission led by mr Barroso which includes ways to recapitalize european banks in order to avoid further financial instability, as well as a reduction of Greek debts by up to 50%. One thing the EU Commission needs to avoid is a Greek default.

more info on the EU commission proposal at link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204002304576628390557928046.html

[TBF]

17. Non-subscribers of the WSJ only get a short blurb ...

The KKE has a lot of support and is gaining daily with workers. I wouldn't be quite so quick to write them off.

[TBF]

5. Solidarity with KKE - you have my support 100%. nt

[lovuian]

7. it is a National strike

and its just the beginning
get a good look because America is going the same way as Greece

[Cal Carpenter]

13. We need to watch and study and learn

from what the Greeks have been doing and are doing now. The Greek people have been sold out by their own leaders and bourgeoisie, and by the EU and international finance, they are not taking any more of this shit.

The only way OWS will result in any real change is if we take it from the streets to the workplace. This is how you get shit done. This is how you organize. This is how you show the ruling class you are serious.

Solidarity with the KKE, Workers of the World UNITE!!

[unkachuck]

16. imagine that....

"The ability of the people to tolerate policies that have only yielded poverty and despair has come to an end."

....I guess average Greek has had enough of his/her wages and benefits being cut, taxes being increased, just so the Greek government can borrow and send more money to Brussels and Wall Street for their pay raises and year-end bonuses....

....what's wrong with those Greeks? Can't they take a fuckin' like Americans?

[Nihil]

18. Interesting philosophical question that ...

If taxes are being increased but they are still not being paid,
does the increase really exist?

:shrug:

As far as government income is concerned then an additional 5% of zero
is still zero ...