The pensioners on the path of struggle in Greece

Thousands of pensioners, in rallies and mobilizations in over 20 cities, who had responded to the call of the pensioners’ organizations, demonstrated yesterday and demanded the payment of the Easter bonus to everyone, the restoration of pensions and rights to pre-crisis levels and the abolition of the anti-people laws. They also demanded exclusively public and free healthcare and medical cover.

At the meeting the delegation of the pensioners had at the Ministry of Labour, the deputy minister of Social Security, Dimitris Stratoulis, merely repeated the position of the government regarding the return of the Christmas bonus to the poorest pensioners, without answering the demand for the immediate return of the Easter bonus. He also repeated that the government will not further reduce the pensions. So, in essence, the SYRIZA-ANEL government refused to make any commitment in relation to the just demands of the pensioners.

Dimos Koumpouris, president of the Pensioners’ Federation and member of the CC of the KKE, speaking to the demonstrators, stressed that the issue is not merely for the pensions not to be further reduced, as the pensioners today can no longer deal with their problems. He called on the pensioners to be vigilant, as the government’s negotiations with the lenders are being carried out with the same rationale as the previous government had. He underlined that the pensioners will continue to fight to recover what has been taken from them and prioritize the issues of pensions and healthcare