From left to right on the screenshot: Ilias Kasidiaris (Golden Dawn’s henchman), another spokesman of the workers’ union, Ilias Panagiotaros (Golden Dawn’s henchman) and Giorgos Sifonios (president of the workers’ union, completely friendly as it seems with both the Stalinists and the neo-Nazis)
An official article on the webpage of the neo-Nazis reads ‘The Golden Dawn [Chrissi Avgi] on the side of the Greece Steelworks strikers’! The neo-Nazis did pay a visit to the factory and shared out staple goods where they had put stickers with their name and the national flag, reading their racist motto ‘… to cleanse the place for good ’. And what did the strikers do? They accepted their ‘bid’ and even allowed them to speak out their vomiting propaganda. We’ve seen the related video; we know it is in fact true; we don’t care to show this filth to you. What we need to say is that this is a complete disgrace of any notion of a labour struggle. Not only did the steelworkers in Aspropyrgos not abolish their ties with the Stalinists of KKE and PAME so far, but now some of them even had the nerve to applaud the killers of the Golden Dawn. Even if these strikers could regain any dignity left on them and denounce publicly the visit of the neo-fascists in the factory (17/2), we are making clear that we will not tolerate any other neo-Nazis speaking in behalf of workers’ struggles. It is not only absurd but fucking infuriating. The strong wave of solidarity itself, shown to the steelworkers by people across the country and the world all these past 108 days of their ongoing strike, demands that they don’t make matters worse.
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Announcement of the trade union of the steelworkers of Helliniki Halivourgia
“The board of the trade union of the workers of the Helliniki Halivourgia condemns the attempt of the fascist organisation “Hrisi Avgi” and other groups to provocate, to slander and discredit our heroic struggle.
The “Hrisi Avgi”, since the beginning stood against our struggle, as it does to every workers’ and people’s struggle. It defended the industrialist Manesis, saying that his proposal for dismissals and 5hour workday were “reasonable under the difficult situation of the market”. That every company exists for this reason, to make profit. Since the beginning, Hrisi Avgi denounced our trade union as “uncompromising and lead by outsiders” that the trade union’s stand “leads the factory to closing”. Hrisi Avgi tried to bring to confrontation our colleagues from the factory of Volos with us, saying that we strike because when we get our dismissals we have been guaranteed, huge compensations that our colleagues in Volos do not have.
When they saw that this reactionary slander had no result, that the steelworkers continued proudly their struggle against Manesis and his class as a total, that this struggle met the support of all the workers in Greece and on international level from workers from all over the world and from immigrant workers who work in Greece, they decided to attack with other, hideous means against our struggle. On the 109th day of strike, Hrisi Avgi suddenly visited the factory under the pretext of bringing material support. After taking photos to the pasta and the bottles of water they had brought, “decorated” with hideous, pre-election slogans (which we saw after them leaving), and after them videotaping their presence, they continued their notorious role. Through announcements they started provocating our struggle, the board of the union and its leaders. At the same time, a few other groups, found the excuse to openly say, what they were hiding for so long. That is, that they also use our strike to their interest, without agreeing with our struggle and its content.
We answer to all of them that they are too small, to criticize and hit the struggle of the steelworkers. The steelworkers are expressed through the decisions of their General Assemblies and the board of their trade union. In these decisions is reflected the class content and orientation of our struggle, our demands.
We say once again that we ask for the solidarity of all workers. But we state clearly, once more, that the struggle of the steelworkers is not disoriented, is not bought off, under the pretext of material support. To our call, since the beginning, responded hundreds of trade unions, massive organisations and thousands of workers from Greece and the rest of the world, organisations with which we have many different opinions, goals and directions.
We are aware that some do not offer material support in order to help, but they hope for other things. We state that the steelworkers are not for the teeth of Hrisi Avgi and other so called revolutionaries. The steelworkers are part of the organised class movement that was and is the basic supporter of their struggle. It is no coincidence that all these groups attack against PAME, in and out of Greece, PAME that was and is since the beginning, the basic supporter of our struggle, that now is organising a campaign all over Greece, for financial support of our struggle. We call the steelworkers to isolate those who cause damage to our struggle. We say to Manesis and his people, that they fool themselves, if they believe that they will provocate and hit the solidarity movement to our struggle. Provocations will not succeed.
We struggle for all Greece to become Hallivourgia”