Greek Unions Prepare for Strike Against New Austerity Measures

[Joanne98]

Source: Bloomberg

Greek state services, public transit and ferries to the country’s islands will be disrupted tomorrow as public and private-sector unions stage a three-hour strike to protest government austerity measures in the 2011 budget.

ADEDY, which represents more than 700,000 civil servants, will join the General Confederation of Labor, or GSEE, Greece’s largest private-sector union, for the action between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Workers will rally in central Athens at 1 p.m. before marching to the Greek parliament. The unions have also called a 24-hour general strike for Dec. 15.

The strike will come two days after International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank members said Greece will need to make an “extra effort” to cut its 2011 budget deficit.

Garbage collectors returned to work today after having been on strike since Nov. 19 to clean up the mounds of garbage piled up on city streets. The Pan-Hellenic Seaman’s’ Union went on strike yesterday, aiming to shut down transport to the Greek islands until the morning of Nov. 26 as the group seeks a collective bargaining agreement.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-24/greek-unions-prepare-for-strike-against-new-austerity-measures.html

[Cal Carpenter]

1. Strike!

Go working class!

Man we need to take a cue from the Greeks. They aren't backing down.

As an aside - I hate the way these events are characterized in Bloomberg, WaPo, WSJ, NYT etc. It's always in terms of 'disrupting business' as opposed to, gee, I dunno, masses of people standing up for their rights and saying 'fuck you profiteers!!'.

[Imajika]

2. What have the "masses" stopped so far?

Austerity is moving forward. The Greek socialist party, the one in power now instituting austerity, just did very well in the elections this past week. The results were considered an endorsement of the austerity measures.

From what I can tell, the strikes and protests haven't accomplished much of anything. They have not affected policy at all. At least in Greece, it appears that voters are actually approving these measures.

Same thing is true in France where the government completely ignored the unions and strikes and rammed through an increase in the retirement age.

As best I can see, the masses are only capable of making noise these days. The people out in the street appear to be a loud minority, with the majority having decided that austerity is needed. Considering the crappy situation the Greeks now find themselves in, I am not sure we'd want to take a cue from them.