The over packed stadium of Taek Kwon Do welcomed yesterday 800 delegates and declared the initiation of the 16th World Trade Union Congress.
Workers from every corner of the capital of Greece, holding high up the flags of international solidarity, under the sounds of working class militant songs and crowd thunders of banners and mottos, directed a warm welcome to the trade unionists that arrived in Athens after traveling miles and miles in order to participate in the 16th World Trade Union Congress.
During the presence of the representatives, with applauses and unstoppable internationalist banners, with pulse and intensification that roused the whole stadium, the Greek workers welcomed one by one the delegates of the international working class.
The initiation ceremony represented a great internationalist celebration worthy to the six decades of WFTU. That history was honored with the projection of a video dedicated to the 65 years of WFTU and its contribution to the history of the trade union class movement. WFTU has always been present on the side of the workers’ movement at the struggle against exploitation, imperialism, colonialism, apartheid.
On the behalf of the Executive Secretariat of PAME, that bears the responsibility of organizing the Congress, George Perros directed an official salutation to the 16th World Trade Union Congress: “We salute on your faces the millions of workers and working women who rally and struggle from inside the rows of WFTU for the working class’ interests, in the atrocious struggle against monopolies and imperialism” and he added: “We all share consciousness about under what circumstances we struggles, as well as our responsibility to come to the end as winners. We are certain that our Congress shall provide us with fresh power and endurance”.
The official initiation of the congress was declared by the President of the WFTU Mr. Muhammad Shaaban Azouz, which started with the salutations of Mr. Gr. Niotis, First Vice President of the Greek Parliament, Mr. G. Sgouros Regional Prefect of Attiki, Mr. G. Kaminis Mayor of Athens and Mr. V. Mihaloliakos, Mayor of Piraeus.
George Mavrikos, the General Secretary of WFTU, underlined in his speech: “We have come here, to the World Trade Union Congress, through great struggles on departmental, local and regional level, through an open, democratic, militant debate throughout the trade unions, the working places, the basic branches. We have organized decent central initiatives, debates, critical enquiry of our work, exchanges of opinions concerning the timeous, current matters that engage the working class around the world”.
“We shall produce an open, class oriented, democratic congress, all together workers, men and women, fighters from all the branches, all of us who have voluntarily joined the rows of the class struggle against capital and imperialism”.“We go on the path of class struggle. Against imperialism and capital. For a world without man by man exploitation. For a future that shall belong to the working people”.The great participation that reaches the 800 delegates from 105 countries around the world, the thousands o pages –more than 1850- of proposals that have been sent to the congress, as well as the thousands of Greek workers who suffused the stadium of Taek Kwon Do in order to participate to the initiation ceremony, constitute a thunderous proof that WFTU is strong, is in action, grows stronger day by day, and signifies the workers’ interests.
