#rbnews weekly bulletin 13-19 July 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 25-31 May 2013

Prepared by the #rbnews international team, translated by @IrateGreek

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 18-24 May 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 11-17 May 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

Update on the teachers' strike and civil mobilization - 16 May 2013

The Athens Students' Association protests in front of the Titania hotel,
where the Teachers' Union representatives are holding their meeting.

The issue of secondary school teachers going on strike during the national university entry examinations took a new turn last night as the conference of heads of regional teacher unions (ELME) seemed to orient itself towards suspending the strike, despite the overwhelming vote in favour of the strike by teachers' general assemblies one day earlier.

Update on the teachers' strike and civil mobilization - 15 May 2013

Posted by @IrateGreek

Flyer prepared by the Petroupoli Parents'
Union, demanding free public education for all

Regional teachers' unions (ELME) voted yesterday on the proposal to strike put forward by the Federation of Secondary Education Public School Teachers (OLME) to stage a strike on the first day of the national university entry examinations on 17 May and then to continue with a five-day strike on 20-24 May. The Communist-affiliated labour union PAME came up with a counter-proposal to hold a strike on 16-17 May only.

Participation was very high nationwide in the ELME assemblies, which voted massively in favour of the strike proposed by OLME, despite an order for civil mobilization of teachers issued preemptively by the government that came in effect today at noon. Under the terms of civil mobilization, teachers who actually go on strike face the risk of losing their jobs, or worse. It remains to be seen if the strike will actually take place or if the vote was merely a gesture of defiance by teachers towards the government.

The demonstration held on Monday evening in Athens against civil mobilization and the vote of the ELME assemblies did however not deter the government, which proceeded today with commandeering all school buildings and asking the police to guard them in order to avoid occupations of school buildings to prevent the exams from taking place. In a statement released today, Amnesty International says that "the use of special government measures to thwart a proposed teachers’ strike in Greece violates the country’s international human rights obligations" and calls the measures "disproportionate and unnecessary."

Update on the teachers' strike and civil mobilization - 14 May 2013

"They told me to wear the uniform"
A teacher protests in front of parliament on 13 May in Syntagma square
Picture by @MakisSinodinos

By @IrateGreek 

Greek secondary education teachers, together with various groups who joined them in solidarity, held a demonstration yesterday in front of parliament to protest the government's decision to issue preemptively a civil mobilization order for 86,000 teachers in order to prevent a possible strike on the first day of the national university entry exams, as proposed by the Federation of Secondary Education Teachers (OLME). The Council of State, Greece's highest administrative court, rejected yesterday a request by OLME for temporary suspension of the civil mobilization order, despite the dubious legality and constitutionality of back-to-work legislation issued before a formal decision to go on strike is officially approved by regional unions.

Teachers are the third professional group, after employees of the Athens metro and sailors, to be hit by a civil mobilization order since the current coalition government was elected to power. Trucking contractors and municipal workers's strikes were also broken in this way in 2010 and 2011. Of a total of 11 civil mobilization orders issued in Greece since the fall of the Junta, 5 were issued in the framework of bailout austerity policies.

Guest post: The Greek government denies secondary education teachers the right to strike

By Panagiotis Sotiris [1]

In the past three years Greek society has gone through a series of extremely aggressive austerity measures, under the terms dictated by the EU-IMF-ECB Troika that have led to a severe deterioration of living conditions. It has also been experiencing a constant erosion of democratic rights and basic civil liberties. Part of it is the attempt by the Greek government to practically abolish the right to strike in many sectors. Government representatives have repeatedly insisted that it is time to get rid of the “anomic” forms of protest and struggle that have been the main legacy of post-1974 radicalism.

The latest such example is the decision of A. Samaras, the Greek Prime Minister, to issue “civil mobilization” orders for all secondary education teachers, because OLME, the Secondary Education Teachers Confederation, has announced that it proposes to its member unions to stage a strike during the University Entry Exams beginning May 17. The order issued by the Prime Minister includes references to a potential “important disruption of the social and economic life of the country” and to “grave dangers for public order and the health of candidates taking the university entry exams”, and was issued as a preemptive measure before the strike is even decided by the local secondary education unions on Tuesday May 14.

A timeline of fascist activity in Greece over the past year

On the occasion of the anniversary of the May 2012 elections, in which Greece's neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn entered parliament with 7% of the vote, @galaxyarchis prepared a timeline of the most important events related to the rise of fascism in modern Greece.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 04-10 May 2013

Prepared by the #rbnews international team, translated by @IrateGreek

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

Head of OLME announces a 24h strike for the 1st day of university entrance exams

Edited by @inflammatory_

Following the board members meeting, head of OLME (Greek Federation of Secondary Education State School Teachers) Nikos Papachristos, spoke to the media saying: 

" The board members of OLME call for a 24-hour strike on Friday 17th May, the first day of national exams and propose to ELME regional unions a 5-day strike from 20th until 24th of May, in protest over the transfer of 4,000 permanent teachers & layoffs of 10,000 supply colleagues. We denote the Ministry of Education still has the option to do what needs to be done, to withdraw the presidential decree for the mandatory transferring of teachers, that would give us the chance to make one step back so that thousands of students manage to avoid the hassle. It was the ministry's disgraceful attitude that sparked the decision for strike action, by bringing on board this plan and at this time in an irreconcilable manner. All labor union movements back this decision except PAME* "

6 May 2012 - 6 May 2013: one year from the Greek general elections of May 2012

By @galaxyarchis, translated from Greek by @anarresti, corrections by @IrateGreek

By Spyros Derveniotis
Translation: "Dirty immigrants, dying
where the Greeks eat!

Greece recently had two very important political anniversaries. More specifically, May 6th, 2013, marked three years since the adoption of the Memorandum which caused the greatest political rearrangements in the country's recent history, and one year since the 2012 general elections, when those dramatic changes were first expressed through the ballot box. Greek society is living in a period where political time is condensed to such a degree, that the changes occurring every month and every week can hardly be conceived by its collective consciousness. Since the May 2012 elections, which did not lead to the formation of a new government but to repeat elections a month later, the country's image and its political landscape kept changing at a rapid pace until today. In light of a greater tribute to the one year anniversary since last June's elections, when today's three-party coalition government came to power, we take a look at the facts and data which changed in this past year, starting from last May's elections.

General strike in Greece 20 February 2013 - Summary and photo gallery

A general strike took place in Greece today 20 February 2013. It was called by the three main labour unions, GSEE (General Confederation of Workers), ADEDY (the umbrella union of civil servants) and PAME (the union affiliated with the Communist Party of Greece), and was followed by a large variety of professions from the public and private sector, including, among others, lawyers, tax collectors, engineers, doctors, builders, private sector employees, municipal workers, bank employees, teachers and dock workers. The strike was intended to protest austerity policies in general, and in particular measures pertaining to labour such as the abolition of collective labour agreements and the enforcement of civil mobilisation orders against striking workers.

#rbnews international weekly bulletin 02-08 February 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews international weekly bulletin 26 January - 01 February 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews international weekly bulletin 19-25 January 2013

The text companion of the #rbnews international show of 26 January 2013 is online. You can read it after the jump.

Informativo semanal desde Grecia #7 - 24 Noviembre 2012

Radiobubble Informativo Semanal 24 Noviembre 2012 by Mpatman on Mixcloud

1. El Domingo 18 de Noviembre tuvo lugar otra manifestación en Jalkidikí, al norte de Grecia, en contra de un proyecto para la creación de una mina de oro que se cree que causará un desastre ambiental. El proyecto está liderado por el famoso empresario Griego, Bobolas, y la empresa Canadiense Eldorado Gold. Si el proyecto sigue adelante, se generará una masiva deforestación y una contaminación irreversible de los acuíferos locales. Durante la concentración de los manifestantes, hubo cierta tensión entre los que apoyan el proyecto y los que están en contra. La manifestación en contra del proyecto fue masiva ya que contó con la participación de 3.000 personas. A diferencia de otras manifestaciones anteriores, esta vez los manifestantes han optado por no tratar de llegar al campo de trabajo, lo que hubiera generado enfrentamientos violentos teniendo en cuenta que diecisiete divisiones de antidisturbios fueron desplegadas en el bosque. Al final se quedaron alrededor del pueblo en el cual se concentraron.

#rbnews international show - 20 October 2012

On the #rbnews international weekly show on 20 October 2012, @IrateGreek and @tsimitakis discussed the news of the week with SYRIZA's chief economist Yiannis Milios. Topics include the Israeli boarding of the Estelle, which was sailing to Gaza, the 18 October general strike and EU summit, and the links between Golden Dawn and the police,which were exposed in international media. You can listen to the podcast after the jump.

LIVE BLOG on May Day 2012 in Greece

By @inflammatory_ 

15:50 there seems to be no trouble in the area of Exarchia at the moment
15:05 Riot police in Exarcheia opposite protesters' barricades of trash bins in the middle of the street

pic by @_giant_

pic by @makissinodinos

Further anti-austerity protests 19 February 2012 (LIVE BLOG)

By @inflammatory_

Approximately 3000 people gathered in front of the parliament this morning to protest against austerity, chanting slogans and singing the national anthem. The demo was called by the two major trade union bodies of Greece, GSEE and ADEDY, that reportedly have plans for a third general strike in a row, on top of a series of events coordinated with unions and artists, that will culminate on February 29th, the European day of action. 
A new demo is scheduled this afternoon in Syntagma sq. from left wing groups, SYRIZA trade unionists' network, primary unions, motorcyclists and Mikis Theodorakis movement. Follow #19fgr and #rbnews hashtags for twitter updates. This post will be updated with pics and info.

21:06 A RECAP OF THE EVENING DEMO' S MAIN HIGHLIGHTS

Demonstrators outside the parliament 19/2/2012 by Alexia B. on facebook

• 60 preventive detentions made by police in central Athens (Ermou St. Exarcheia & Monastiraki) prior to the demo.
• People descended on Syntagma sq. across the street from Parliament, remaining peacefully until 19:40, when riot police tactics aimed -in an obvious manner- at dispersing the crowd.
• To this end, pepper spray and stun grenade use was made, 3 people were detained and one man suffered injuries when hit by riot policeman on the head.
• Journalists were reportedly repelled by police for doing their job when covering the demonstration. One of them working for Ant1 TV was detained.