NATIONWIDE PEOPLE’S RALLY
THESSALONIKI — 5 SEPTEMBER — CHANTH SQUARE — 17:30
SPEND MONEY ON WAGES, HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION
NO SACRIFICES FOR WAR AND THEIR PROFITS
We call on every working man and woman, the unemployed, pensioners, young people, the self-employed, struggling farmers, and the entire people to give a massive, militant and decisive “present” at the major People’s Rally on Saturday, 5 September, during the Thessaloniki International Fair.
We have nothing to expect from government promises, from “passes,” “baskets” and mockery disguised as announcements — measures that have already been wiped out by taxes and the rising cost of food and energy before they even reach our pockets. Every year they promise “relief” and “support measures,” and every year the bill for the people becomes heavier. Because whatever crumbs they give with one hand, they take back many times over with the other — through price increases, tax plunder, indirect taxes, electricity bills, rent and the supermarket.
While people’s incomes are being crushed and exploitation and insecurity are deepening, the New Democracy government will once again attempt to make black appear white. It will talk about “growth for all” and “stability,” while the people live with the instability caused by rising prices, the commercialization of healthcare and education, skyrocketing rents and housing costs, and the jungle of the labor market. It will talk about “national objectives,” which mean deeper involvement in the imperialist plans of the USA, NATO and the EU, turning our people into a target for retaliation and dragging them into the abyss of war for the profits of business groups.
The workers and people of our region must place no trust in the New Democracy government or in the other parties that support the war economy. Our region is becoming a target for retaliation as NATO bases at Andravida and Araxos are further upgraded. They present the arrival of F-35 aircraft at Andravida as the solution to the dozens of problems facing the people of the region, while concealing the dangers arising from this strategic choice.
The New Democracy government and the parties that swear allegiance to the EU, NATO and the “geostrategic upgrading” of capital bear enormous responsibility. They have supported and continue to support our country’s involvement in imperialist wars. The people are paying the bill, with more than €30 billion allocated to the needs of the war economy, and with a blood-soaked primary surplus of €5.185 billion in just four months, €3 billion higher than projected. This increase comes mainly from indirect taxes resulting from the soaring cost of food, fuel and basic necessities, also as a consequence of involvement in the war.
Even the early repayment of part of the public debt, which Mr. Mitsotakis shamelessly presents as a “success,” comes at the expense of the people through high prices, unfair taxation and the provocative tax exemptions granted to capital, as well as through battered wages and pensions and the tragic shortages in all social services.
At the major People’s Rally, we will respond to all those who do not take our lives into account in their costed programs. No party challenges fiscal discipline, deficit and debt targets, or the cuts in public spending that affect even the most basic needs of the people. On the contrary, they agree with and defend the need to support the war industry and war preparations, demanding new and greater sacrifices from the people. They agree on arms programs and military spending, regardless of how many reservations and asterisks they may attach.
That is why the rhetoric of “costed benefits” in the programs of New Democracy, PASOK, SYRIZA, Tsipras’ party and the rest of those willing to comply, which is intensifying ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair, is nothing but mockery and a trap designed to keep the people trapped in new false expectations amid the onslaught of anti-people policies.
We participate massively in the nationwide People’s Rally on 5 September in Thessaloniki, ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair!
We demand:
- Health and safety measures in workplaces, because our lives are not a cost. So that we do not have to count new victims of workplace crimes. The region’s healthcare facilities must be strengthened with doctors and nurses so that the needs of all residents, Greeks and migrants alike, are covered.
- A stable and continuous daily working time of 7 hours, 5 days a week, 35 hours per week, secured through Collective Labor Agreements, so that we can also secure the free time we need.
- The restoration of workers’ rights and gains, including seniority increments (triennial increases), including the period 2012–2023; the principle of the more favorable agreement; the continuation of collective agreements after their expiry (post-expiry effect); Sunday as a day of rest; and payment for overtime.
- Greece out of the war! No participation in Euro-NATO imperialist plans. All foreign military bases in our country must be closed. The Greek Patriot missile battery must be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia, and all Greek Navy frigates and F-16 aircraft must return home.
- No seafarer in a war zone. The immediate and safe repatriation of all crews, at the responsibility and expense of the shipping companies.
To register for the buses, call:
6981535037 – 6977183494
