Truck Drivers defiant despite conscription orders in Greece

[blindpig]

Truck drivers carrying fuel stand their ground and continue their strike
against the austerity measures despite the government calling a civil
conscription on them

The fuel carrying truck drivers strike which started on Monday in response
to a special "reform", part and parcel of the austerity measures, that
will see individual ownership abolished and replaced by large firms, has
been the first strike crisis facing the greek government after the signing
of the EU-IMF structural adjustment agreement. As a result of the strike
at the moment of writing all but a few gas stations across the country
stand dry and shut, with serious problems caused in boat and bus transport
as well as in individual car transport at the peak of the summer exodus
from the cities. The strike is believed to be hampering the tourist
industry which has reported a virtual freeze on reservations from abroad.

The government's response to the strike has been to call the truck drivers
for dialogue on the condition they stop the strike. The truck drivers
refusal to attend such onerous negotiations led yesterday evening the PM
to announce a civil conscription of the drivers and their trucks, an
authoritarian administrative measure equivalent to forced labour in pain
of prison. The truck drivers response has been defiant: last night after
the announcement of civil conscription drivers pulled their trucks to
blockade the oil refineries of Thessaloniki and Aspropyrgos (Athens),
while at the moment of writing a demo outside the Ministry of Transport is
forming in protest to the authoritarian administrative decision. Faced
with resistance the government has not yet used force to force
conscription with truck-driver reps announcing: "We continue. Let them
take us to prison. We have nothing to more to lose. If the government
thinks that after two days of strike it can move to such measures instead
choosing dialogue, it carries all responsibility" .

The response of the Left to the crisis has been bitter. The KKE (Communist
Party) asked in Parliament if the government intends to reopen
exile-island concentration camps for dissidents, while the Radical Left
Coalition has called the conscription a "July coup d' etat" and the
government policy "colonialist". Civil conscription of workers has
occurred again under the Republic at least three times, in 1979 (bank
workers), 1986 (airspace control officers) and 2006 (dock-workers).

http://olympiaworkers.blogspot.com/2010/07/olympiaworkers-truck-drivers-defiant.html

[blindpig]

1. Joint class struggle against capital and its power

Joint class struggle against capital and its power

On Friday and Saturday 2-3 July the Athens Party Organisation of KKE organised for tenth year in succession a two day cultural and political festival for immigrants. Families of Greek and immigrant workers joined the festival whose main slogan was “law is the rights of the workers. People, no sacrifice for plutocracy, build the front to conquer the power”.

All these years the festival has been built in the workplaces and the neighborhoods, with the participation of Greek and Immigrant workers who struggle together in the workplaces, in the neighborhoods, in strikes and demonstrations, through the class oriented trade unions.

Immigrant workers from recycling factories, small textile industries, construction sites, printing companies, metal workers and young second generation immigrants discussed, sang and danced together.

Communities of immigrants from Tanzania, Philippines, Georgia, Congo, Madagascar, Sudan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, as well as the association for immigrants’ drug rehabilitation “Mosdaik” and the Union of Palestinian Workers living in Greece took part in the festival. PAME, KNE , the “democratic alliance for the people’s freedoms and solidarity” and other mass organizations participated in the festival with their own news-stands.

The aim of these events is to propagate the theses of KKE on immigration. Furthermore, they offer one more opportunity to discuss about the causes that force the people to leave their countries as well as about the goals of the ant-immigrants policy of the EU and the national governments.

Thanassis Pafilis member of the CC of KKE, MP and district administrator candidate in the upcoming local and regional elections delivered the main speech at the festival.

The representative of KKE stressed: “it is very important to repel the efforts of the political forces that serve the interests of the plutocracy, to divide the workers, to hinder the participation of the popular forces in a joint front disorienting the people from the real causes of the crisis and the problems”. We will do whatever we can so as to prevent the poison of racism and nationalism from infecting the working people, and the poor popular strata of our country that suffer the capital’s attack.

KKE regards the joint struggle of Greek and immigrant workers as well as other radical forces as a primary task. KKE does not adopt the distinction between “legal” and “illegal” immigrants. It does not accept the term “illegal immigration”.

The point is that immigrant and Greek workers have common interests. They have the power to overthrow the capitalist barbarity and build the people’s power in a common class struggle with PAME, strengthening KKE against racism and xenophobia, against the illusions about the humanization of capitalism

http://inter.kke.gr/News/2010news/2010-07-07-diimero-metanaston

[Rex]

2. How is that class warfare working out fer ya Greece?

Ya force people to work...it is called slavery. :eyes:

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. This story, and indeed the entire blog, is unintelligible

It is written using marxist class struggle lingo in the way only an Evergreen State College Student can.

[amborin]

4. the truckers control the crucial commodity; let's hope the gov't doesn't succeed in its draconian pl

plan

[Starry Messenger]

5. Cheers to the truck drivers!

Damn that "center-left" gov't sounds like the shade of Ronald Reagan:

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou indicated on Thursday (July 29th) that his government will not bow to pressure from striking truck and fuel-tanker owners and will carry out its plans to open up the road freight industry to competition.

"We believe that liberalising jobs is something that helps young people; freeing up the market opens up the possibility for better services, for cheaper services, and is essential to paving the way for growth," the head of the ruling centre-left PASOK party said at a cabinet meeting.

Liberalising protected sectors, including the road freight industry, is among a series of major reforms Papandreou's government must implement to receive funds from the eurozone countries and the IMF, under the 110 billion-euro bailout plan announced in May.

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2010/07/30/feature-01