February
2010February
2010Humanite: How does your union react to the austerity policy decided by the left government concerning public services (cutting salaries, no replacement of state employees)?
Kostas Isychos: First of all let me mention that today's deepening crisis is a result of constant and escalating conservative policies in the last 15 years. It is not a natural disaster from one day to the next, but man-made with a name and a surname NEO - LIBERALISM.
The trade unions in Greece at this moment are organizing and preparing for the general strike on the 10th of February. The demands are that neo-liberal policies and measures of cutting salaries, pensions, reducing even further the social state (health, education, etc) stop now. Individual unions (state employees) and small and medium farmer associations have been mobilizing in the past weeks for the same demands. In Greece in the social and political terminology we use we do not position the present government in the left but rather in the bi-party system, that has adopted for the last decade constant reform and austerity policies within the neo liberal strategy. We believe that this struggle is not just in organizing one general strike but to mobilize the broadest masses within the working class in a constant and escalating effective and victorious struggle in order to have an effective working and social movement than can create the social and political conditions of reversing present government policies and the directives of the economic and political elite in Europe. At this moment, Greece is a laboratory of extreme neo-liberal policies within the European Union. To the extent that the implementation of these policies is a fact, other countries will follow, with parallel strategies and austerity programmes. Our struggle has to be embraced, joined by the European workers because the results of this struggle, whether negative or positive, will have an immense effect on the rest of the E.U. member countries and its peoples.
Humanite: Which part of the population will be victim after such decisions?
K.I.: The unemployed, youth, women, immigrants, old pensioners, people working under precarious conditions for the last 15-20 years, farmers, and workers both in the private and public sector are the constant victims. Today’s policies will also hit hard small and medium businesses, the people working the tourist industry, family owned small business are the main target groups of these policies. As a whole, the real economy of our country, our real wealth is the human factor, the worker. If only numbers and dogmatic neo-liberalist policies under the Lisbon treaty are taken into account, we are talking about two different realities. First reality is daily life of unemployment, precarious jobs, increasing poverty and social exclusion, along with racism and autarchic policies, and the “second reality” is the constant accumulation of wealth by banks, off shore companies, transnational and multinational capital. These two parallel worlds exist today, and the present government has made its choice for supporting the second world I mentioned.
Humanite: What propositions and alternatives solutions will you defend the 10th February on the occasion of the national strike?
K.I.: Our positions are clear. The workers, the women, the youth and the immigrants are not willing to become “lambs of sacrifice” to the neo-liberal temple of banking profits and off shore companies.
We offer concrete programmes of a new a taxation law that will put under the social microscope and political control of profits that in the last years are incredible both in in numbers and uncontrolled ways of achieving them, specially by banking.
We offer concrete demands on the creation of new quality jobs. Complete legalization of immigrants with no papers so they are included in today’s work force and private capital stops having “party profits” on these peoples backs.
Implementation of laws that will increase state revenues by stopping harmful to the the public services and economic conditions, privatizations in telecommunications, transport, banking, heavy and light industry. A short – medium and long term programme on decreasing unemployment by creating important incentives for the state and for the small and medium business. Creating a wide alliance within the E.U. for putting an end to the Lisbon Treaty which is subjugating peoples across Europe to constant diminishing of social welfare, public education and public state enterprises which could offer new quality jobs and create real economic conditions for real growth that combats poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.
Humanite: Are you going to meet with the government to discuss social policy?
K.I.: Dialogue is part of our struggle and is a must for the social movements and the trade unions, but it has to take place under three conditions. That the government stops terrorizing, with the help of big mass media interests , that it stops and “freezes” the implementation of the austerity programme. Every day public opinion is bombarded : “in a matter of weeks or days Greece will default”, meaning that working people have to accept all policies no matter what. Secondly, an open public dialogue permits the trade unions and the social movements put forward their anti-neo-liberal and alternative positions on an equal basis. Thirdly, big business, transnational companies, the banking system and its immense profits are the ones that have to “pay the bill”. We need a concrete agenda so that these interests are the ones under the “eye”, the control and the strict taxation of the government, in order to have more state revenues that in turn will support the incentives for the creation of new jobs.
Big business interests remain secure under the protective umbrella of the Greek Government and the current E.U. leadership, and only working people are called on to make constant sacrifices for a lifetime. I’m sure that this policy is something that has become part of our political environment not only in Greece but in France and the other European countries as well.
Humanite: How many people are suffering in Greece from the crisis: the redundancy, the restructurations... (How many people are unemployed and what is the average salary)?
K.I.: Official unemployment is around 12%, women unemployment is well over 25%, youth unemployment is reaching 40%. For the immigrant occupation percentage (near to one million immigrants), the figures are not known, since the state has no official and reliable system to measure (since the majority has no papers). Immigrants are the most vulnerable part of the work force to extreme exploitation as well in the cities and the agricultural economy. More than 500 medium light industry( food, clothing, etc.) have closed or moved away to other countries (neighboring and Africa) in Northern Greece alone in the last 8 years.
Unemployment figures in the cities of Drama, Xanthi, Ioannina, Kavala, Alexandroupoli are well over 40%. Poverty today is common for previous middle class families in these regions. Debts to big banks by farmers is alarming. More than 60% of traditional farming is in danger of liquidation.
The minister of works announced in the Greek parliament a few days ago that in 2010 unemployment will surpass the 19% figure, meaning that more than 1,100,000 will be unemployed by the end of the year. Precarious jobs, with no social security are 80% of the jobs offered today. The basic monthly salary under the national trade union agreement with the “social partners” is 731 euros. There is a great number of “obscure jobs” (jobs with no social security, medical welfare, etc) and not under any social and trade union protection, affecting specially immigrants and youth. The most alarming fact of all is that E.U. and Greek government officials when asked about these alarming unemployment figures say “that under the necessary austerity programme this is an “unavoidable must”, but in the future when the economy recovers, unemployment will drop”. This cynical answer is not only deceitful and socially unscientific but extremely dangerous when unanswered.
I would like to thank you, Humanite and its readers for the kind invitation to answer your questions, hoping that solidarity among working people increases in ways that our National and European struggles are common, effective and victorious. EFXARISTO SYNTROFOI (THANK YOU COMRADES)