Mass strike gathering and march in the center of Athens – Minor incidents

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Crowd of workers in the strike gathering and march in the center of Athens – Intensity and in Thessaloniki

He held a mass demonstration yesterday a number of workers from different sectors in the context of the 24-hour nationwide industrial strike that had been declared by GSEE and ADEDY. With a central slogan “accuracy breaks”, shortly after 11:00 in the morning labor unions, federations, labor unions, students, students and parties of the left gathered in Klathmonos square and then marched to the Parliament demanding, among other things, an increase in wages, collective labor agreements, universal social protection and dignity at work. After the speeches were over, a protest march was held which ended up in the Parliament, where a resolution of protest was served.

They also attended the GSEE-ADEDY strike meeting the president of SYRIZA-PS, Alexis Tsiprasthe president of PASOK-KINAL, Nikos Androulakis, the secretary of MeRA25, Yanis Varoufakis, while in Propylaia the general secretary of the KKE was present at the PAME gathering Dimitris Koutsoubas.

“Inflation is galloping, punctuality is crumbling, the incomes of vulnerable households are shrinking, workers have no rudimentary protections, neither from labor law nor from collective agreements. At the same time, policies are implemented that increase inequalities, intensify poverty and do not provide a solution to the great problems of the unemployed. For all these walks of life, the unions are mobilizing, prioritizing the wage increases that are necessary and are the number one demand across Europe. For our collective agreements so that collective labor law is fully restored, because it is the only way to protect employees”, said the president of GSEE, Yannis Panagopoulos, during the rally in Klathmonos Square and added: “We call on the government to abandon horizontal policies, to help those in need, with priority to the unemployed, the low-paid, the pensioners and of course all the salaried workers, the people of labor who for more than 10 years they have existed, sometimes memoranda, sometimes pandemics and now the crisis of inflation and accuracy”.

The president of the ADEDY executive committee described the gathering and the strike as “a milestone for the course of the trade union movement but also for the course of the workers’ claims”. Dimitris Bratis. “We are all here, working in the public sector, in the private sector, to demonstrate and say enough is enough, it doesn’t go any further with precision. Mr. Mitsotakis and the government are leading us to poverty and destitution. We demand here and now increases in our wages to live with dignity. Today’s rally and strike is the beginning of mobilizations to change this policy. If the government does not change it, it will always find us in front of it”, noted Mr. Bratis.

At the same time, PAME gathered in Propylaia as well as other unions marching to the Parliament, while among the demonstrators was the general secretary of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoubas.

Moreover, labor unions, organizations and parties of the extra-parliamentary left as well as collectives of the anti-authoritarian space gathered in Hautia and then marched to the Parliament.

Episodes in the Constitution

Short-lived incidents occurred at Syntagma just before the end of the demonstration when a group of unknown people threw Molotov cocktails and other objects at the police forces, while shops were damaged. Police forces responded by using chemicals and stun grenades.

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