A Greek single judge court on Sunday ruled ‘illegal’ a four-day national strike declared by the coach drivers’ federation of trades unions to demand the signing of a collective agreement.
The coach drivers’ federation had accepted a 20 per cent wage cut but the employers wanted much more: a 70 per cent wage cut, further cuts in allowances and full ‘flexible’ working conditions.
The employers’ Federation of Tourist Industries said that business was down 41 per cent this year.
The coach drivers’ federation are now considering their next move but no support has been forthcoming from the GSEE (Greek TUC).
The executive of the GENOP trade union, the biggest and most powerful in Greece as it unites miners, power and electricity workers, has also voted for a 20 per cent pay cut on the pretext that in this way a new collective agreement with the employer, the state owned DEH (Public Electricity Corporation), will be signed.
The social-democrats, the right-wingers and the supporters of the Coalition of the Radical Left in the GENOP’s executive all voted for signing up.
Earlier this year, the EC-IMF imposed coalition government of banker Papademos passed a law which abolishes collective agreements unless employees and employers agree otherwise.
This has been used by the employers to demand huge pay cuts and by the trade union bureaucracy to comply, stating that in this way collective agreements will be maintained.
Last Friday the leader of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, said that if his party wins the June 17 general election the Papademos law will be annulled.
Electricity workers and GENOP members have taken up a struggle against the betrayals of their union’s executive.
GENOP trades unionists pointed out that the treacherous executive have also accepted the carve-up of DEH and privatisations plus mass sackings.
These trade unionists will be calling mass general meetings of their respective unions and/or branches to develop a fight to overthrow the executive.
In Athens Greek police have admitted that the daughter of Nikos Michaloliakos, the fascist leader of the Golden Dawn party, was arrested last Friday for causing dangerous bodily harm to immigrant workers in a series of attacks involving gangs of fascists on motorbikes.
In 1977 Michaloliakos himself was imprisoned for 11 months for placing a bomb in a cinema.
