Greek workers’ general strike

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University students marching in Greece – the banner reads ‘Overthrow the government’

From daily News Line in Britain:

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

GREEK GENERAL STRIKE TODAY

THE General Council of the ADEDY (public sector trades unions federation) has called another 48-hour national strike for today and tomorrow against the destruction of the public sector, hospitals, schools and services, and tens of thousands of mass sackings carried out by the Greek coalition government on the orders of the EC and IMF.

ADEDY said that, in collaboration with the GSEE (Greek TUC), a one-day general strike has been called for today, Tuesday 24 September.

Dozens of anti-fascist rallies and marches have been held in many Athens and Piraeus districts as well in all Greek cities.

At the Kokkinia district, where the rap artist Pavlos Fyssas was murdered by a member of the fascist Golden Dawn party in the early hours of last Wednesday, over 3,000 seafarers, industrial workers and youth marched again on Saturday morning demanding the closing down of the Golden Dawn offices and the smashing up of the fascists.

Riot police once again protected the Golden Dawn offices while in other marches riot police unleashed vicious tear-gas and truncheon attacks on demonstrators.

In the Athens area of Dafni an ‘off-duty’ policeman drew his pistol and, according to eye-witness reports, fired three shots in the air against demonstrators.

Over 100 demonstrators were arrested by police on top of another hundred last Thursday. Police announced that 24 demonstrators were charged and will appear in court on Thursday, 26 September.

Yiorghos Roupakias, the 45-years-old fascist killer, has been charged with premeditated murder.

The Greek Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias last Friday said that his Ministry compiled a list of some 30 serious violent attacks by Golden Dawn in the last two years; this list has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

…

For today and tomorrow, mass strike rallies and demonstrations have also been organised for Athens and for all Greek cities by the GSEE and ADEDY.

…

The state secondary school teachers’ union OLME held a national conference on Saturday where, following a marathon session, a 48-hour national strike was decided for yesterday and today by a majority of 82 per cent.

The proposal for another five-day national strike got 65.7 per cent just short of the 66.6 per cent majority required by the OLME rules. But 56 out of 85 OLME branches at general meetings last Thursday decided for a five-day strike.

…

Last Sunday evening OLME and Greek State TV and Radio ERT workers, who are in the fourth month of their occupation, organised a demonstration and a concert by hip-hop artists in the memory of Pavlos Fyssas.

In the city of Salonica last Friday riot police were stationed outside the ERT building.

Last week once again the Public Television Minister Kapsis called for an end to the ‘illegal’ occupations.

Services across Greece shut down as trade unions held a 24-hour general strike: here.

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