Contribution of the Communist Party of Greece

Dear comrades,

 

Our Party warmly greets today’s teleconference of the European Communist Action(ECA) on important issues of the workers’ movement, and we would like to thank the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) for organizing it. We will seek to contribute by presenting key positions of the KKE and certain conclusions drawn from our experience.

First of all, we salute the major strike mobilizations of workers across Europe and around the world on International Workers’ Day. We would also like to inform you of the great success of the May Day strike in Greece, as well as the very large strike rallies organized by the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) in Athens and dozens of others cities across the country, under the slogan: “We march on the path of overthrow against war and exploitation”.

A broad outreach effort was organized in workplaces, across hundreds of enterprises, highlighting the decisive importance of the class struggle—carried through to the end, for the abolition of the exploitation of man by man. As part of this effort, particular emphasis was placed on the execution of the 200 heroic communists by the fascist occupiers in Kaisariani on 1 May 1944. They met their deaths with courage and dignity, remaining faithful to the values and ideals of the KKE.

 

Dear comrades,

 

We are participating in today's ECA teleconference, having gained impetus from the resolutions made at the 22nd Congress of the KKE. These resolutions have given new momentum to the fulfilment of our Party's tasks in the context of an irreversible escalation of imperialist war, with the imperialist camps lining up and intensifying their preparations.

The Political Resolution of the 22^nd Congress defines the tasks of communists:

“Today we can become more capable in the revolutionary work of preparing and educating forces in the class struggle waged by the working class and the people, in building the social alliance, in deepening its anti-capitalist and anti-monopoly orientation, and in spreading the Party’s Programme. We must also become more effective in connecting with politically more distant masses —a connection that must acquire solid ideological and political characteristics and be reflected in the building of the Party and KNE, by reinforcing the communist characteristics of our forces.”

Conditions may emerge for the peoples to come to the forefront, to test their strength, and impose what is just. The key issue is how our daily, tireless activity on all the problems of the working class and our people is linked to the strategic goal—namely, the overthrow of capitalist barbarity—so that the root causes of these contradictions become clear, and the workers’ movement does not end up rallying “under a false flag”. It must become increasingly clear to the working class and theallied popular forces that they have no interest in aligning with one or another imperialist camp, and that they must not be trapped under various pretexts and illusions within the aims of the imperialists or within any form of system management. Distrust toward bourgeois governments, bourgeois states, and imperialist alliances must be strengthened. As we often say, this may not be the moment for an immediate assault, but it is the moment to enlighten and prepare for the goal and the conditions of the revolutionary perspective.

More decisive steps are needed in regrouping the trade union movement, in strengthening the anti-capitalist and anti-monopoly line of struggle, in expanding union membership, in changing the correlation of forces, and in increasing participation in struggles. Workers’ reflection must deepen and broaden, developing into a challenge to the system of barbarity. Ultimately, under non-revolutionary conditions, what must be shaped is as strong a revolutionary vanguard as possible, with bonds of influence and impact over the widest possible sections of workers—by workplace, sector, and working-class and popular neighbourhoods.

The communist, in the workplace and in the neighbourhood—even if only one—has the duty, through their action, to emerge as a popular leader in organizing the struggle, to inspire consistency, militancy, and selflessness, and at the same time to distinguish themselves by their ability to advance the strategic objective of the overthrow of bourgeois power.

Important experience from such work—particularly under conditions of war preparation and our country’s involvement in the imperialist war—was provided by the 24-hour strike in the private and public sectors on 6 February in Piraeus and Thriassio, held in conjunction with the International Day of Action by dockworkers in Europe and the Mediterranean. The action involved dockworkers from 20 ports in 7 countries, under the slogan “Dockworkers do not work for war”. It was a mobilization decided by the International Coordination of Dockworkers, through meetings of dockworkers’ unions, alongside a number of interventions on dockworkers’ rights, as well as more militant initiatives, such as blocking the transport of war materiel to the murderous state of Israel.

The content and framework of struggle of the strike were enhanced, linking opposition to the imperialist war, the country’s involvement in it, and the dangers arising from the transformation of critical infrastructure into links in the chain of war involvement, with demands against the intensification of the exploitation of workers.

Primary-level unions decided to take the lead in organizing this important battle, bringingto a standstill major, strategically important workplaces employing thousands of workers, and holding large strike rallies in Piraeus and Elefsina, with the participation of thousands of workers—many for the first time, particularly from younger and productive age groups. Our intervention, drawing on the experience of workers and the people of the area, ensured that the strike and its demands were supported by broad sections of workers and popular strata in Piraeus.

This was preceded by the hard work of communists in the port of Piraeus and their union, the Container Handling Workers’ Union at the Piers of Piraeus (ENEDEP). A decisive factor was that our forces, with well-developed positions in the ports of Piraeus, Elefsina, and Thriassio, waged an ideological and political struggle against employers, the government, and other bourgeois parties. This was in opposition to the forces of employer- and government-led trade unionism and opportunism. These forces refused to call strikes under various pretexts, acted as strikebreakers and were ultimately exposed in the eyes of the workers. A major effort was made to promote discussion with workers and the people living in those neighbourhoods. At the core of the confrontation was the question of whether workers could expect benefits from capitalist development and from choosing an investor or form of infrastructure ownership —whether private or state-owned—within the framework of the collective capitalist, the hostile bourgeois state. Educational work was intensified to highlight issues related to production itself and the nature of labour. All this activity also opened up opportunities for us to recruit dozens of workers who had distinguished themselves in the struggle.

We can say that this battle was waged in line with the direction we have set for the regroupment of the movement. The crucial question, therefore, is how we take the lead in organizing the workers and the people—on the basis of the workplace, especially in large industrial units and key sectors, in working-class neighbourhoods, and among specific groups such as younger workers, women, and migrants. At the same time, it is a question of how we become more effective in elaborating the framework of struggle and sectoral demands, as well as in unifying them under a central slogan and an overall orientation of the struggle. This framework must be bound up with vanguard, militant action and the escalation of demands, so that the discontent that exists and is growing among broad sections of the working class and popular strata, as a result of the implementation of the criminal policy of profit, is expressed in a militant, claim-oriented way. It is also a question of how the executive boards of trade unions become real combat headquarters. At the same time, how a struggle that may begin from a partial demand breaks out of the narrow confines of the workplace, the sector, or the area in which it develops.How solidarity can be broadly expressed.

Equally crucial is the change in the correlation of forces within the organs of the movement in favour of class-oriented forces. For example, our emergence as the leading force in the Athens Labour Centre led to the establishment of 21 new enterprise-based unions over the past three years. Likewise, in the Confederation of Greek Civil Servants’ Trade Unions (ADEDY), the electoral list aligned with the ruling right-wing party of New Democracywas overthrown, and in the Association of Hospital Doctors of Athens–Piraeus (EINAP)—the largest union of doctors in the public health system— we also recorded significant gains. At the same time, we achieved a notable rise in the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) —which is controlled by employer- and government-led trade unionism and the bourgeois state— where the forces of PAME won 12 seats on the Executive Board for the first time in over 30 years.

The positions we are winning in the trade union movement reflect important processes taking place in working-class and popular consciousness and are the result of long-term, hard work by communists; such results do not arise spontaneously or by themselves. The intervention of the Party and PAME has been significant in the development of militant initiatives and mobilizations against employers, the state, the government, and other bourgeois parties, as well as against the forces of employer- and government-led trade unionism—such as the recent multi-day strike struggle of workers at HELLENiQ ENERGY, one of the largest energy monopolies.

To a significant extent, the framework and line of struggle we promoted within the movement have become more distinct and clearly defined, impacting broader sections of workers. The orientation towards “work from below” has been strengthened, as has the effort to draw forces into the organisation of struggle and into shaping its direction, through general assemblies and mass procedures, as well as through the coordination of trade union action via meetings. Workers’ participation—through collective discussion, decision-making, and action—combined with a properly elaborated framework of struggle, has ensured an increase in workers’ organisation within the trade unions and the formation of strongholds of resistance.

New possibilities are emerging for planning our work on more favourable terms for the regroupment of the labour and trade union movement, and for making use of them to sharpen the class struggle. This is also reflected in the impressive participation of 700 trade unions and 2,000 trade unionists from the public and private sectors in the recent nationwide conference of PAME. It confirms that indeed “something is stirring”, and that through our daily work, person by person, we can turn things upside down. Ultimately, it highlights the decisive role of the organized vanguard within the workplace and, by extension, the decisive importance of organisation.

Dear comrades, we believe we all recognize the need to continue the discussion and exchange of experience between the Communist Parties participating in the ECA, in order to strengthen our ties with the working class and our efforts to strengthen the class-oriented movement, to achieve better results in workplaces and within trade unions, and to increase the influence of communists.

 

Thank you very much!