Corporate Astroturf pro-austerity demonstration in Greece

This video from the USA is called Astroturfing exposed – How the American energy & coal industry fakes a grassroots revolution.

After pro-global warming demonstrations, Astroturfed by Big Oil in the USA … today a pro-European Union austerity demonstration in Greece; Astroturfed by German, Greek, etc. Big Business.

From daily The Guardian in Britain tonight:

There are reports from Athens that some firms have been pushing their staff to take part in tonight’s Yes rally.

Not sure how substantial they are, so I’ve alerted our people on the ground – in the meantime, regular reader equusmulusoctopus has kindly provided the details:

The labour inspection of the Greek ministry of work and social insurance says that it has been receiving dozens of complaints since early this morning about employers trying to force their employees to participate in the “yes” demonstration this evening. The attempt appears to be well organised and the employees are told to gather at certain places where they will be given placards and whistles and be marched to Syntagma. Those who don’t go are threatened by immediate dismissal.

The attempts to force employees to the demonstration are made at all sorts of companies, mostly big and medium-sized. The ministry mentions shipping companies, companies trading in foodstuffs, German companies trading electric goods and insurance companies explicitly, but adds that the complaints come “from everywhere imaginable”.