Thousands of strikers demonstrated on 21/09/23 in Athens, Thessaloniki and dozens of other cities in Greece, refusing to accept modern slavery, no matter how many laws and provisions are introduced by the state, all governments over the years and the employers in an effort to consolidate it. Strikers in the private and public sector asserted their just demands for contemporary rights, for stable work and working hours, for 7-hours workday 5 days a week, for collective labour agreements with increases in salaries.

The workers and trade unions flooded Athens with their mass rally, stressing that “The 8-hour day was won with the workers’ struggles and blood”, defying employer's intimidation, the government's slander on the workers’ struggles, and the silence of the compromised leadership of trade unions.

Apart from condemning the bill – monstrosity, the rally was turned into a space for the expression of anger and indignation of tens of thousands of workers and young people, of the toiling people who on the one hand see their income been eaten away and on the other hand are forced by the government to work 13 hours a day; who, on the one hand, work like a dog and, on the other, are victims of a completely hostile state and suffer from the criminal policy which is based on the cost vs benefit notion.

While the workers were demonstrating outside the parliament, MPs of the KKE were struggling inside the parliament, taking the bill apart and exposing the government’s big lies and deception. They called upon the workers and the people to show no tolerance to today’s barbarity and made it clear that the KKE will continue with greater determination being at the forefront of the organization of the workers’-people’s struggle to cancel the anti-labour monstrosity in practice and strengthen the counterattack of the people against capitalist barbarity.

Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE, attended the strike rally at Syntagma and made the following statement:

“Today the labour-trade union movement throughout the country gave a resounding response to the government, the state, the employers and the compromised leadership of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), triggered by the anti-labour bill – monstrosity that is introduced in Parliament.

Moreover, they gave a resounding response to the government’s big lie and deception about the salary progression every three years as well as its criminal policy that destroys the Greek people’s lives, properties and rights based on the cost vs benefit notion, serving the profits of the few.

That is why the only solution is: All for one and one for all”.

 22.09.2023