THE Greek Vouli (parliament) approved late on Tuesday a government Bill that re-establishes ERT, the state national tv and radio network.
This is a vindication and a victory of the ERT workers’ struggle who never ceased the fight to re-open ERT since it was closed down in June 2013 by the then coalition government of conservatives and social democrats on the orders of the EC-IMF-ECB lenders to Greece as part of the Austerity Measures Memorandum.
But ERT workers occupied the central premises and for six months broadcast programmes while in the courtyard mass anti-austerity and anti-government rallies took place. There were also regular meetings of trades unions delegations on how to organise the fight.
The government ordered the riot police to storm the premises; since then ERT workers have carried on the struggle through web radio and television, organising meetings and demonstrations.
The approved Bill means that all 2,500 ERT workers – journalists, technicians, artists, administrators – will be re-employed.
The SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government Bill states that workers would be signing private sector contracts as if ERT was a private company. It also states that ERT would be buying an unlimited number of private sector tv and radio productions.
PROSPERT had demanded that ERT produces all its programmes. The Greek government has not announced yet when ERT would start broadcasting.
The SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left) Merchant Navy Minister Thodoris Dritsas affirmed on Tuesday that the Greek government is to proceed with the privatisation of the Piraeus nd Thessaloniki ports.
He said that privatisation has been imposed by ‘pressing conditions that no one can ignore’ and referred to conditions attached to an agreement with the EC-IMF-ECB troika lenders. Dritsas also said that other Greek ports would be privatised.
SYRIZA had promised that not a single privatisation would take place.
Dozens of young people heckled the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on Wednesday night at a restaurant in the students’ district Exarkhia next to the Athens Polytechnic.