Workers shot in Greece for protesting unpaid wages

Injured immigrant workers in the hospital

Migrant workers shot at by foreman in Greece

At least 20 strawberry pickers wounded in pay dispute after foreman opens fire on them with shotgun, police say.

Last Modified: 17 Apr 2013 22:49

At least 20 migrant strawberry pickers were shot and wounded in southern Greece, in a pay dispute after a foreman opened fire on them with a shotgun, police have said.

Wednesday’s incident occurred near the village of Manolada, about 260 kilometres west of Athens.

Haralambos Sfetsos, the police captain, said most of the wounded workers were from Bangladesh.

“The injured have been taken to various nearby hospitals. We have been informed that none of the injuries are life-threatening,” Sfetsos told AP news agency.

“We have identified the three foremen and are looking for them. They are three Greek men, who live locally.”

He said the shooting occurred when about 200 workers at the strawberry field demanded six months unpaid wages and “moved threateningly” toward three foremen, at least one of whom opened fire.

The owner of the site, who was not present at the time, has been detained for questioning while arrest warrants have been issued for three Greek foremen.

From I Can’t Relax in Greece blog:

34 injured in the ‘strawberry’ villages – they were asking for their salaries after being unpaid for months

SYRIZA and KKE condemn the incident

At least 34 Bangladeshi workers ended up in the hospital after they were shot by land caretakers in the strawberry fields in Nea Manolada, Ilia. Dozens of angry foreign workers who were unpaid for at least six months had gathered demanding to be paid for their work. Instead they were shot by the business’s caretakers. …

“The gunshots against migrant workers in Manolada, who were claiming payment for their work, constitute a criminal, racist act,” says SYRIZA in a statement about the incident and notes that “justice should be done immediately; this is imperative.”

“This particular event, where big bosses with their henchmen attack workers who are asserting their rights reminds us of other times and confirms that barbarism is a synonym of the present system of capitalism. Greek and foreign workers, united as a fist, have to fight against this barbarism and the system that gives birth to it, “says the Communist Party in a statement condemning ”the attack against immigrants, land laborers, coming from big landowners and caretakers in Manolada, Ilia.“