Tens of thousands of workers, students and youth in Greece participated in the May Day rallies and marches held last Sunday in all Greek cities.
Railway workers carried out a 24-hour strike and ferry crews a four-hour midday stoppage.
In the capital Athens three May Day demonstrations took place.
Over 4,000 workers and students participated in a march called by the Co-ordination of Trade Unions which brings together various trade unions in both the private and public sector.
The Co-ordination has brought together trade unions who are against the present leadership of the GSEE (Greek TUC) which has capitulated to the government.
The front banner of the Co-ordination march stated: ‘For the overthrow of the policies of the government, of the European Union, of the International Monetary Fund and of the Employers – Down with the IMF Accord, down with the Euro, bring the government down.’
Slogans for the overthrow of the government, against the European Union and against the bombing of Libya by the imperialists dominated the march.
Immigrant workers and political refugees from Turkey and other countries took part in the march with their banners.
There were also banners from ‘militant local committees’ that have formed in several districts of the Greek large cities.
The Trotskyists of the Revolutionary Marxist League, Greek Section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, took part in the march and made a successful intervention selling dozens of copies of their newspaper with the headline ‘Papandreou-IMF-EC have bankrupted Greece! – Now it’s time for revolution!’
Several hundreds of fully-armed and ready for combat riot police were stationed in front of the Vouli building (Greek parliament) so as to prevent demonstrators congregating there.
Obviously this was a dress rehearsal by police for the huge general strike demonstrations on May 11 when hundreds of thousands of workers are to march to the Vouli.
Last Friday the government announced that they have arrested a person as a suspect for last year’s attack on a bank branch which resulted in a fire that killed three bank employees.
But the police did not offer any evidence and the arrest was seen by workers as a provocation.
The bureaucrats of the GSEE and ADEDY (public sector trade union federation) organised a rally, much publicised by the capitalist media, which was attended by small delegations from all the major public sector trade unions (telecommunications, water, post office) including the DEH-DENOP electricity, mines and power workers’ union, the largest in Greece.
Thousands of workers and youth took part in another Athens rally organised by the KKE (Greek Communist Party) that marched to the American Embassy.
Some demonstrators threw red paint at the building of the French Embassy in protest against the bombing of Libya.
The Greek Prime Minister Yiorghos Papandreou has announced that his government intends to sell a 17 per cent stake in the DEH (Public Electricity Corporation) as part of his programme of privatisations to raise over 50 billion euros to pay Greece’s debt.
The DEH-DENOP executive council decided last week to hold 48-hour ‘rolling’ (continuous) national strikes if the government goes ahead with privatisation which the union says will treble the price of electricity and lead to mass sackings.
Last Thursday the Greek Statistics Authority announced yet another record unemployment figure – 1.1 million out of work.
Of those, it is estimated that about 250 thousand are in so-called ‘training’ paid schemes.
Only 300 thousand receive unemployment benefit.
In the 15-30 age group, over 30 per cent are unemployed.
The Co-ordination of Public and Private Sector trade unions is organising a march through Athens this Friday on the occasion of the first anniversary of the imposition of the IMF-EC-ECB Accord.
