31 August, 2015Investment, innovation and respect of social rights are key factors for a successful recovery of growth and employment in Greece; not destruction of social protection and labour laws. IndustriALL Global and Europe declare their continued solidarity with Greek workers and unions during a solidarity mission to Athens.

The leaders of IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriAll European Trade Union visited Athens on a solidarity mission on 28 August 2015. General secretaries Jyrki Raina and Ulrich Eckelmann together with assistant general secretaries Kemal Özkan and Luc Triangle met with Greek affiliates Panhellenic Metalworkers’ Federation, Panhellenic Energy Federation, Greek Electrotechnicians’ Federation and the Greek Federation of Workers in Cement Industry, as well as the Greek trade union confederation GSEE.

Greek workers have gone through extremely difficult times since the financial and economic crisis hit the country in 2008. High public deficit and debt levels brought the Greek economy to the verge of collapse. Financial assistance was needed, but was provided with strict conditions attached.

The result was a 25 per cent fall of Greece’s GDP and a deep humanitarian crisis. Some weeks ago, the Greek government was forced to agree on a new programme of financial support for the third time with severe conditions imposed.

The enforced cuts in wages, pensions and welfare spending are putting massive pressure on economic output, jobs and tax revenues. More than 50 per cent of young people are out of work, and families are unable to pay rents and mortgages, or struggling to feed their children.

The troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund badly miscalculated the extent of the negative impacts of the imposed reforms and severe austerity. This created a fatal vicious circle where more lending based on unsustainable conditions is leading to even more debt. There is now a broad consensus that the increase in debt levels can only be held off by an injection of financial support.

IndustriAll European Trade Union general secretary Ulrich Eckelmann said:

We firmly believe that Greece must be part of Europe’s future. Saving Greece is also about saving Europe in this very difficult economic and political period.

To ensure a successful recovery of growth and employment, urgent measures are required:

A return to a healthy economy based on a national reconstruction plan including manufacturing, agriculture and tourism

An ambitious plan for growth and jobs as counterpart to the economic reforms

An investment offensive to modernise the economy, to support innovation, to develop social infrastructure and to improve energy infrastructure and efficiency

A sustainable solution to the Greek debt problem as a necessary condition for the Greek economy to grow and recover

Respect for fundamental trade union rights, the right to collective bargaining at all levels, and strengthened social dialogue

The reform package must include combatting corruption, undeclared labour and tax evasion. Greece is in no way helped by the liberalization of mass dismissals, privatizations, further cuts on pensions, deregulation of labour law and the dismantling of collective bargaining. Such measures are destroying social security, the income of employees and purchasing power, and they will have an adverse effect on domestic demand and thus on the economic recovery.

IndustriALL Global Union’s general secretary Jyrki Raina concluded: