THE leaders of the eleven TV, Radio and newspaper media trade unions issued a ‘Victory at ERT’ (Greek State TV and Radio network) statement on Monday.
This followed the decision by the Council of State (the Greek High Court) which ordered the ‘suspension’ of last week’s decision by the Greek government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to shut down ERT.
But the media trades unions leaders’ statement also says: ‘we remain at our guard, we follow events and accordingly we will decide on further mobilisations.’
Thousands of workers and youth who attended an all-evening and night concert by top singers and musicians at the ERT grounds greeted the Council of State’s decision with enthusiasm.
The Council of State ordered the government to immediately allow ERT to transmit its programmes as before the shutdown, but allows the government to proceed with the ERT ‘restructuring’ i.e. mass sackings, sell-off of property and the shrinkage of ERT.
The working class is is determined that this will never happen.
The full case of PROSPERT (ERT unions) against the Samaras’ diktat to close down ERT will be heard at the Council of State in September.
Thus, the Council of State retreat gives some time to the government to re-organise itself for a second try to destroy ERT.
However, the huge movement of the working class is threatening to break up the coalition and force Samaras to call a general election.
Early on Monday both Chancellor Merkel and the EU had expressed support for the Greek parliamentary junta of Samaras, and demanded that under no circumstances should a general election be called because it would put back all the ‘necessary’ restructuring (i.e. destruction) of ERT and all other state sectors including education and the civil service.
The EU troika have demanded 180,000 sackings of public service workers by 2015, and 25,000 this year. The official unemployment rate last May in Greece went over 27 per cent.
Following the meeting of the three Greek coalition government leaders, the PASOK social democratic leader Evagelos Venizelos gave a press conference in which he demanded that Prime Minister Samaras obeys the Council of State decision.
In a statement last Sunday the Greek Trotskyists of the Revolutionary Marxist League (RML) called for ‘An indefinite political general strike to overthrow the Samaras’ parliamentary junta and for workers to go forward and establish a socialist workers’ and small farmers’ government based on workers’ committees, trade unions and Popular Assemblies.’
The Greek workers, having won a victory with their occupation of the ERT, are now determined to never let it close, and in fact to bring down the coalition and get rid of Greek capitalism completely.