Statement by the Revolutionary Marxist League Greek Section of the International
Committee of the Fourth International
The only road for all workers is to build the new revolutionary leadership and organise the indefinite political general strike to get rid of the coalition government of the EC-IMF-ECB!
THE 9-month-old steel workers’ strike at the Hellenic Steel plant near Athens against mass sackings and wage cuts, and the two-week national strike against privatisation by the Agrarian Bank (ATE) workers have been betrayed by the Greek Communist Party (KKE).
In this, the KKE was aided by social-democratic government supporters and by trades unionists of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). In both cases workers were told to end the strike without a single reason being given.
Just days after a magnificent march of over 5,000 in Athens and a 167-4 vote for the continuation of the strike, the Communist Party leadership of the steel workers’ strike announced that the strike must end. On Monday July 30, steel workers went back to work and immediately they were intimidated by the bosses’ foremen and several were sacked.
At the Agrarian Bank trade union SEATE, the Communist Party’s trade union section proposed the resolution to end the strike at the union’s Emergency General Meeting (EGM) in August. This was backed by the Conservatives, the Social-Democrats, and the Lefts of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA).
These trade union sections, which appeared as having different proposals to each other, throughout the previous week had created confusion and an atmosphere of submission to the Piraeus Bank ultimatum issued to ATE Bank workers to sign up to new contracts or be sacked. The EGM took place with few attending, since already all these trade union sections had decided to end the strike and were urging their supporters to accept the Piraeus Bank’s contracts!
At the EGM, the Communist Party’s trade union section proposed the resolution which was accepted by just 57 votes and the two week strike ended. That resolution stated:
‘Nothing is finished. We salute the two weeks’ strike struggle carried out by the Agrarian Bank workers.
‘We are the winners, because we showed determination, we took initiatives, we organise our struggle collectively.
‘The political responsibility for the outcome of this struggle lies with the majority of the Executive Committee (EC) of the SEATE.
‘The EC bears responsibility that most of the workeforce was led to vote for the (Piraeus Bank) agreement.
‘On this basis the decision of the SEATE not to sign the (Piraeus Bank) agreement is no longer valid.
‘We go back to work with heads up high, with out own will and decision and we continue with different kinds of struggle.’
Following this disgusting sell-out, on Tuesday 14 August, the Greek Communist Party’s daily Rizospastis published an article on the ATE Bank workers’ strike under the title, ‘They are continuing their struggle in other forms’, exactly the same phrase as that used for the sell out of the 9-month steel workers’ strike at the end of last July.
Using the militant phraseology of ‘victory’ (!), as in the steel workers’ strike, and appearing as if in a deadly confrontation against the ‘majority of the EC of the SEATE’, the Communist Party’s trade union leaders at the ATE Bank proposed this shameful resolution which betrayed the strike and the historic mobilisation of ATE Bank workers throughout Greece. This strike’s betrayal was proposed as a united strike front was being built in the bank sector with the colleagues of the Postal Bank who are also threatened by privatisation, mass sackings and new contracts.
The joint ATE Bank and Postal Bank workers’ most militant mass demonstration took place just two days before the sell-out.
The resolution proposed by the Greek Communist Party’s trade unionists was voted fully by the whole EC of the SEATE: the government supporters – the conservatives and the social-democrats – as well as by the trade union section that supports the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA).
This was an open submission not just to the Piraeus Bank’s ultimatum, but also to the diktats of the coalition government’s austerity measure Accords as imposed by by the troika of EC-IMF-ECB.
Right from the start of the strike at the ATE Bank, the EC of SEATE (made up of the four trades union sections mentioned) refused to set the goal of victory. The SEATE leaders accepted the privatisation of the state ATE Bank (sold to the private and bankrupt Piraeus Bank) and hoped for a good deal with Piraeus Bank. But a good deal cannot be had today in times of world economic crisis and the collapse of the Greek banking system. All the trade unions sections at the EC of SEATE refused to demand that the OTOE (Federation of Bank Workers’ Trade Unions) call a national all-banks’ strike and the GSEE (Greek TUC) call an indefinite general strike.
The ‘Militant Initiative’ left-wing trade union section at the ATE Bank openly criticised the treacherous course taken by the EC of SEATE, stressing that the ATE Bank strike ‘concerns the whole of the working class’ and that ‘a common front must be created with colleagues at the National Bank and at the Piraeus Bank’. In its statement dated 8 August, the ‘Militant Initiative’ even called for the ‘overthrow of the government and of the Accords’ and the write-off of Greece’s debt.
However this trade union section also refused to campaign and call on the GSEE leaders to call an indefinite general strike to bring down the government.
Throughout the ATE Bank strike, as well as through the nine-month-long steel workers’ strike, the Revolutionary Marxist League in its newspaper and leaflets distributed at the plant’s gates and at demonstrations, called for the maximum unity of force of the working class to be achieved through the organisation of a general strike supported by Peoples’ Assemblies in every area, to stop privatisations and overthrow the EC-IMF-ECB-imposed Accords of the coalition governments.
We said that this is the only road for today that can lead to victory. Not a single section of the working class must be left to fight alone! We called for pickets and demonstrations at the big trade unions (electricity, mines, ports, transport etc) to come out on strike and on the GSEE to force them to declare a general strike.
The Stalinist leaders of the steel workers strike and the Stalinist-reformist treacherous coalition at the ATE Bank sold out the strike since they refuse to mount a fight against the coalition government.
The trade union leaders – of all these counter-revolutionary tendencies – could not and will not lead the fight for the victory of the working class because they are opposed to the socialist revolution.
These leaders are completely subservient to the capitalist system and can only lead workers to further betrayals and defeats.
Stalinism and reformism betray, and these leaders must be replaced by the revolutionary leadership of the Revolutionary Marxist League.
We urge workers to join us now and replace the rotten regformist and Stalinist leadersships.
In front of us, this autumn, are the huge battles against the parliamentary junta of the Accords. Under the new Accord of at least 11.5bn euros public spending cuts, hundreds of thousands are to be sacked and all of us will suffer yet another slashing of wages and new labour conditions.
This parliamentary junta must be overthrown by an indefinite general strike leading to a socialist revolution initiated by the trade unions and the Peoples Assemblies.
This is the road to our victory.
Join the Revolutionary Marxist League to lead the struggle of the working class and youth, including the immigrant workers, for the overthrow of the government of the Accords, for the write-off of the debt, for the nationalisation without compensation and under workers’ control and management of all banks and major businesses, for a workers’ and small farmers’ government and socialism!
Athens, Wednesday 15 August 2012.