PAME (All Workers Militant Front) is Trade Union Front founded in 1999, to fight against the new challenges the workers had to face, against the sickening situation that was created in the trade unions by the governmental and employer’s trade unionism.
The last five years, PAME organised more than 30 General Strikes in Greece, in addition to hundreds local and sectoral industrial actions against the measures imposed by the Greek Governments, the IMF and the EU, as was demanded by the big corporations, the Greek and foreign multinationals. PAME’s action has succeeded in many cases to block measures, wage cuts, lay offs, etc. Moreover in some cases, even within these conditions, PAME’s forces have succeeded to sign Collective Contracts that increase the wages. However, the situation the Greek workers live in today is the one created after the imposition of all the antilabour measures.
During the last five years the official number of the unemployed has raised over 1.500.000 (from 380.000 in 2008), though the real number is even higher. This number stands for the 30% (7.8% in 2008) of the general population, which however becomes more than 50% for young people.
Furthermore, more than 800.000 workers, though they have jobs, they have not been paid for months and more than 300.000 have no social security. The capitalists use the terrorizing number of the unemployed as leverage, and threaten the workers to accept wage cuts and to abolish many of their rights.
At the same time both the Government of ND-PASOK, as well as the opposition of SYRIZA, though they debate on who is better to manage the situation, they both accept the policies of the EU and the need for the competitiveness of the Greek Capitalists. This means the continuation of the antilabour policies that were imposed, as well as the adoption of new measures against the majority of the people.
Because the problem of unemployment is one of the most crucial issues the trade union faces, in the conditions of the crisis of capitalism, PAME has started a campaign which targets on unemployment. Since September the trade unions focus on the unemployed, on how to bring them closer to the trade unions, and of course to strengthen this way the ability of the trade unions to mobilize workers and unemployed against the common cause of their problems, but also for immediate measures for the protection of the unemployed.
This campaign consists of every day actions, meetings, protests and activisms and is scheduled to climax with a National Rally at Athens on November 1st. For this purpose, trade unions from all over the country raise the demands of PAME in every workplace, in every neighborhood and prepare to move thousands of people to Athens, on November 1st. Till this moment, more than 650 organisations, trade unions, federations, students’, women’s and farmer’s associations have adopted PAME’s initiative and have joined this effort to overthrow today’s conditions. That is why the November 1st Initiative is expected to be a key point into changing the situation within the workers’ movement and one of the biggest demonstrations of the recent period in Greece.
Source: PAME GREECE