Today more than ever, the international and local Capital, the bosses and their political mouthpieces, make an attempt for a full frontal sweeping assault on society. They dismiss, they reduce wages and pensions, they criminalize and convert any social claim to “terrorist” action, they sell out and commercialize public social goods, they condemn an entire society to unemployment, hunger, humiliation. Exorbitant increases in public services, (electricity, water, transportation, food) which are essential for human survival in the current structure of society, are announced almost every month.
The government, having the absolute support of the international loan moneylenders of the IMF, and through the mouth of the president of DEI (Public Power Corporation) A. Zervos, announced, for the umpteenth time, new increases in electricity tariffs, which will be applied from this January. Revaluations that exceed the limits of speculation.
The largest percentage of those increases will be paid by households and farmers, with an increase of 13.7% of the price in the electricity consumption. On the Contrary, the manufacturers, several professionals and for those with high power consumption, reductions of 5-18% are expected! In particular, small and medium consumption will pay increases from 1.6% to 2.6%, while the large consumption of 2001-3000 kWh, are dealt with decreases of 4.4% and till 13.8% for consumption over 3001 kWh. All these are the first installment price increases, since the next three years the price of electricity for households will jump to 20-30% without counting in increases in surcharges as the Renewable Energy, utility services, for ERT (National Radio Television )and municipal taxes.
And of course, no need to mention the mockery of the “Social Domestic Tariff (S.D.T), an announcement that is supposed to be applied to consumers who belong to vulnerable groups, such as unemployed, low-income, disabled, etc., since the deduction for those who will manage to join this program is from 5 to 10 euro for a quarter .
In a few words ,all of us who have to make savings in the consumption for financial reasons or due to environmental sensitivities are penalized with exorbitant increases, while on the other hand a reward is given for waste and the existence of large and intensive properties and activities.
From all these mentioned above, the anti-social and class criteria of the tariff increases in power become obvious. Criteria facilitate the owners, and also open the door wide to privatization of DEI. Thus, the “modernizing” equity swap of DEKO (Public Enterprises and Organizations) “imposed” a few years ago by Pasok (party on power), follows the current full privatization of it, in order to find fertile ground for the implement of the falsely so-called “green” development.
A kind of development that is anything but “green” , since for its taking to implement as it is designed not only they are not abolished , but coal plants are multiplied in Mandoudi, the White Houses, Astakos, Kavala (cities and communities of Greek area across the country), while at the same time hybrid power plants “promise” the ultimate destruction and desertification of the environment even nature reserves (Natura areas), with express procedures (fast track) (Apopigadi, design of hybrid factory in Zaros, APE (renewable sources of energy) Naxos), bypassing and impeding in fact any action to courts of local communities.
They try to convince us, through contradictions and fictional economic-technical terms, for the necessity of implementation of “green” growth, the cost of which all of us are called to pay directly or indirectly , so that the entry of multinational companies in energy branch as well is facilitated. So now DEI with the overpricing of energy, acts as a step for multinational companies for bigger increases from their side and greater profitability for their funds. Besides, the workers themselves in DEI report: “The real reason for the increase is to ensure private individuals and increase their profits. With the new increases in prices, three things will happen: 1) private individuals will increase their profits, 2) DEI will lose everything that the state-fed misters will gain and 3) consumers sooner or later, particularly now that the price per kilowatt hour should reflect the cost of it, will be called to suffer the consequences. Opposite to this attack against society, the only solution that we find feasible and effective is the collectivization of our resistance and social disobedience.
Electricity, water, transportation, nutrition are social goods. They belong to the entire society and nobody is entitled to deprive or commercialize it. They are key elements of survival, produced by working people and belong to all of us and are absolutely necessary for life itself.
All of us, therefore, working and unemployed, have no other way than this of non-payment of excessive bills that come to complement the already pressed everyday life because of job precariousness and the general economic situation we are experiencing.
We have no other way than collective resistance to the efforts of a power failure when we realize that something like this happens in our neighborhood, because our neighbor is unable to pay the bill.
The over invoicing and commercialization of our energy needs, give us the right to resort to any form of self-reduction (for measuring blocking, denial of payment of fees, total refusal to pay, expropriation) and whatever else one chooses to try to live with dignity and not just to survive!
Mutual aid and solidarity is the only attitude that will prevent further deterioration of our lives. We organize ourselves in our neighborhoods at the level of fighting assemblies, and stand in solidarity with those who are prosecuted for any act of sabotage, for debts to DEI or private providers of electricity that will occur.
Resistance to political and economic terrorism, they are making attempt to impose.
Dignity and solidarity is our struggle and our resistance to the attack by the bosses and Capital.
Evangelismos Squat, Theotokopoulou 18 str., Heraklion, Crete