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Greece:

595 women cleaners of the Greek Ministry of Finance call for solidarity with their struggle for life and dignity

“The Government fired us and chose to give our jobs to private contractors…”

Tuesday 15 July 2014

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We are 595 women cleaners of the Greek Ministry of Finance and since 17th September 2013 we have been unemployed. The Government fired us and chose to give our jobs to private contractors, with no financial benefit for the state. Our wages ranged from 300 to 650 euro a month. We are not numbers, we are human beings.

We haven’t bowed our heads in submission. Since 17th September we have been in the streets every day, claiming back our jobs, claiming back our lives.

The Government is trying to suppress our just fight in any way it can. Pictures of defenseless 50 or 60-year-old women beaten up by riot police have spread around the world. Lots of us were taken to hospital after the barbarous and unjustifiable police attacks against us.

We have opted for dignity. Ten months of struggle, ten months of poverty and problems ! But we haven’t given up. We continue our struggle. We claim the self-evident : our right to life.

A surge of support is spreading in society. Workers, redundant workers, unemployed people, students, pensioners, artists, they all express their support.

Greek justice has vindicated us, but the Government refuses to comply with the court decision. It wants revenge on us because we are fighting. It wants revenge on us because we have opted for dignity.

Solidarity is people’s weapon. We call on you to express your solidarity to our struggle for life and dignity. We call on you to sign the support petition and help collect signatures, which will force the Government to execute the court decision – something that will cost nothing to the Greek state.

Together we can stop these barbarous policies.