On International Women’s Day

Dozens of events were held last week by the Federation of Greek Women (OGE) and the KKE in many Greek cities for the 8th of March, International Women’s Day.

The statement of the CC of the KKE notes the following amongst other things on this issue:

“On the occasion of the historic anniversary of March 8th, International Women’s Day, the CC of the KKE sends a message of greetings to all women: working women, salaried women, unemployed, pensioners, self-employed, women in the rural areas, young women in the schools, vocational education centres, Universities and Technological Institutes, research institutes, immigrant women, women from single parent families and from families with many children, mothers of children with disabilities, young mothers,. It sends militant greetings to the women all over the world who are suffering due to the imperialist interventions.

The sacrifice of the working women in the clothing and textile factories of New York in 1857 for “10-hour working day, bright and healthy workrooms, wages equal to those of the male garment and textile workers”, reminds us of one thing, namely that any gains for women that we saw in the 20th century under capitalism were not handed out. Tough class struggles preceded them, a women’s vanguard was needed to rally the many women.

The hope and optimism for the women of the working class and popular strata can be created on the path of collective struggle, the class struggle, based on the contemporary social needs, for women’s equality and emancipation in a society freed from the exploitation of man by man. We can regain the achievements we lost in this direction and we can win new ones. If we do not act now, they will take even more from us. For this reason, the struggles today acquire great significance so that tomorrow belongs to us.”

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, visited the pharmaceutical factory “Pharmathen” on the occasion of the 8th of March. There, speaking to the workers, who in their majority are women, he noted that the struggles like those of the working women on the 8th of March 1857 signal that there is no struggle waged that does not have a positive impact on the position of the workers and the popular strata. He stressed that path of rupture is the only path for the workers. The other path is the assimilation inside this system, assimilation in the predatory alliance of the EU that entails a continual retreat in the face of the demands of the partners and monopoly groups, of capital. He underlined that nothing can happen without struggle, without the organization of men and women, with a specific axis of struggle, with a specific plan, through the trade unions, the trade unions that really struggle and stand at side of the workers, through the workers’ organizations of PAME, the federations, unions, labour centres, as well as the associations of OGE.

On 8/3/2015, D. Koutsoumpas also attended the major event organized by OGE in Athens.