Major Greek unions strike to protest privatization
Vngelis
By Tim Tower
17 May 2008
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The two largest unions in Greece organized strikes on Thursday, May
15, of workers in telecommunications, banking and transportation. The
national actions were called to protest government plans to
effectively privatize OTE, the Hellenic Telecommunications
Organization, along with large portions of shipping operations at two
major ports. GSEE, the country’s largest labor union, called 24-hour
strikes at OTE and at shipping operations in Piraeus and Thessaloniki.
In the center of downtown Athens, workers staged a march from the
Omonia Plaza Metro station to Sindagma Square opposite the national
parliament building in the city center.
Police fired tear gas to prevent strikers from entering the
headquarters of the National Bank of Greece. There were no reported
injuries or arrests.
On the same day, 2,000 students staged a separate demonstration and
launched sit-ins at 10 universities.
Olympic Airlines, the government carrier, was compelled to cancel 40
flights to and from Athens, and to reschedule an additional 16
international and domestic flights because of work stoppages by pilots
and air traffic controllers. Aegean Airlines cancelled an additional
28 flights.
Deutsche Telekom (DT) has purchased 25 percent of OTE in a deal that
gives the German concern managing control of the Greek phone service
and threatens complete privatization. Protests from opposition parties
in parliament, coupled with actions by the unions, escalated on May 14
when Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis announced that DT would
purchase a 19.56 percent share of the company from the private
investment firm Martin Investment Group. The government facilitated
the deal by selling DT an additional 3 percent for €29.75 per share.
The transaction reduces government holdings from 28 percent to 25
percent. By purchasing an additional 2 percent of the company on the
open market DT will obtain a parity stake immediately, with the
government and the company each holding 25 percent. In response to the
news, OTE stock fell 8 percent the next day to close at €18.82 per
share on fears that the move would provoke the unions.
The conservative New Democracy government is simultaneously moving to
sell the rights to manage container terminals at the ports of Piraeus
and Thessaloniki. Giant firms Cosco and Hutchinson from China and
Dubai World Ports from the United Arab Emirates are competing for the
contract, which would secure control of the container operations at
the two ports for 30 years.
Banners on Thursday’s march called for the restoration of the
telecommunications industry to 100 percent public ownership. Perrakis
Alexandros, president of the Telecommunications Workers Union for the
Athens area, told the WSWS, “We are on strike because we are opposing
privatization.” The privatization would hurt the general public
because the cost of communications services would increase and the
quality of service would decline. “It is not only a problem in Greece,
or the European Union,” he said, “that workers’ wages and rights are
being cut down. It is the same problem all over the world. This is due
to the system that we live in, capitalism. To make more profit, the
capitalists cut wages and workers’ rights.”
Yannis and Angelos, who held one of the banners, said the actions were
organized against the threat to jobs and working conditions posed by
privatization. “The only way, finally, to secure jobs and working
conditions,” Yannis said, “is that the public has to defeat
capitalism.” Turning to world politics, he said, “Iraq is an
imperialist war, only for oil and to open markets in Asia to American
industries. Everyone sees that.”
The strikers have been following the US election campaign and
commented that Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
did not represent an alternative to the policies of the Bush
administration. “The only chance for real change is to build a
separate party of the working class,” said Yannis. “I would tell the
workers in America that the problem is not just with Bush. After him,
Clinton or Obama will be the same. It is the system of capitalism
which must be changed.”
The Athens News reported that a vote against the Telekom deal in
parliament could bring down the government and precipitate a general
election. The paper also reported that although Alogoskoufis denied
reports that the government was moving to liquidate all of its
holdings in OTE, many observers believed that to be the case.
The state will receive €442.3 million and Martin Investment Group will
get €2.55 billion. As soon as the transaction goes into effect, the
structure of the company board of directors will shift to give five of
its ten members to DT and five to the Greek state.
Despite holding a mere one seat majority in parliament, the government
is pushing ahead with plans for aggressive privatizations and massive
cuts in government pension plans.
In response, the unions have staged a number of protests. ADEDY, the
civil servants’ union, called a three-hour strike on May 14 at the
state-run electric utility, PPC, and other public utilities to oppose
plans for privatization and cuts in pensions and to demand a salary
increase from €658 to €1,300.
dusty
> Major Greek unions strike to protest privatization
> By Tim Tower
> 17 May 2008
> The two largest unions in Greece organized strikes on Thursday, May
I knew this would crop up again - that's why I have been posting stuff
containing the issue for a while now. China is a strange chimerical
deformed workers' state existing in AND BY NECESSITY ADAPTING TO
BLOBALISING IMPERIALISM . It must be defended against imperialism.
There are a lot of things about this posting that need to be
addressed, but because of time I will do later. But for the moment I
will concentrate on one only – as it is important to sort out here on
the only free socialist discussion group.
I knew this would crop up again and again - that's one reason why I
posted the reference to the issue earlier – in relation to electricity
privatisation in New South Wales. As I see it, China is a strange
chimerical deformed workers' state, existing in, and by necessity
adapting to, globalising imperialism . It must be defended against
imperialism, and its character objectively brings it into conflict at
major historical nodal points with the USA/EU driving forces of this
system. The same for Russia, Korea and Cuba etc.
But does this mean socialists should support this logical capital
export of the Chinese – when this is part and parcel of neo-liberal
privatisation – whether or not state companies are doing the
privatising.
If the answer is "yes", what of the next step: staffing the
enterprises with trusted, “culturally appropriate”…servile… labour
from China?
Vngelis
If the Chinese are minority holders in export industries in
underdeveloped countries and they use local indigenous labour they
should be supported. If they seek majority stakes and to import
massive amounts of labour then no.
I cant see any other position as there is mass unemployment in almost
every third world country. Allowing the Chinese to have visas for
their labourers when there are so many of them does not necessarily
help the people on the ground but on the politicians and capitalists.
vngelis
Daniele Futtorovic
Objection. Support China on political issues where it is, and inasmuch
as it is opposed to the US. On economic issues: no preferential
treatment. Support for China is one thing, but cleaning your own porch
comes first. Supporting any exploiteur /rather than/ your own nation's
workers is treason. China is big and can take care of itself.
--
DF.
to reply privately, change the top-level domain
in the FROM address from "invalid" to "net"
dusty
>
> - Show quoted text -
What about in countries like USA, France, Australia, Greece? The
existing visa laws could easily be adapted to allow that – in fact
there is one type of USA (and EU ?) visa that allows companies to
import labour from foreign subsidiaries (in this case it would be
China subsidiaries) under the conditions prevailing in the subsidiary?
Does the fact that China is a workers’ state have any bearing on this
question?
My opinion on this question is no because the position of the
organised working class in these countries takes precedence.
Vngelis
Agreed.