Greece Follow

Greek primary school teachers protested in Athens last week and began their sixth week on strike this Monday. They are fighting for better pay and for a decent education service. The strike is piling pressure on the Tory government, and linking up with other struggles against its plans for education. Secondary school teachers are striking for three days a week, other unions have taken action so their members could join teachers’ protests, and several universities have been occupied against privatisation plans. A mass rally was set for Athens this week after unions rejected government concessions.

Around 50,000 primary school teachers and their supporters marched in Athens, Greece last week as part of the teachers’ all-out strike over pay. The four week strike has rocked the Tory government. The pressure against the right was intensified after the death of postal workers’ official Manolis Gourniezakis when he tried to stop right wing thugs tampering with a union ballot box

The struggle against the right wing Greek government’s privatisation plan for education is continuing.

Thousands of students took to the streets of Greece on Thursday of last week to celebrate their first big victory against neo-liberal attacks on higher education by the right wing government.

Activists from all over Europe and the Middle East will arrive in Athens this week to participate in the 4th European Social Forum (ESF).

A banner denouncing attacks on pensions leads Greek workers, marching during a general strike against attacks on collective pay bargaining last Wednesday.

Seafarers were ordered to return to their jobs last week by a special "civilian conscription" decree signed by Kostas Karamanlis, the Tory prime minister of Greece. This was an attempt to break a week long strike which has paralysed the country.

A huge scandal associated with the "war on terror" is rocking Greece’s Tory government following revelations that about 100 mobile phones, including the prime minister’s, were tapped.

Protest over torture in Greece Support was growing this week across the Greek labour movement for a demonstration this Saturday over the torture of Pakistani immigrants by the intelligence agency last summer.

Pressure is on Greek minister

Christos Markogiannakis, the Greek deputy minister for public order, was forced to resign on Tuesday of this week in the wake of the scandal over the kidnap and torture of 28 Pakistani immigrants by Greek secret services and MI6 last year.

The British foreign office has been forced to admit that a senior MI6 officer was present at the interrogation of Pakistani immigrants who were illegally seized in Greece. The 28 men were abducted from their homes then beaten and psychologically tortured.