Workers’ unions and federations are stepping up their support for farmers as demonstrations intensify, with coordinated gatherings planned today in Athens and Thessaloniki, on Monday, Dec. 8.
In Athens, unions will assemble at 6:30 p.m. outside the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in Vathi Square. At the same time, demonstrators in Thessaloniki are expected to converge on the Ministry of Macedonia–Thrace.
The call for the Athens rally comes from the Federation of Ministry of Agriculture Associations, the Builders’ Federation, the Dairy–Food–Beverage Federation and the Retail Workers’ Association. The organizations underline that attempts to pit the public against farmers are seen as an effort that will not succeed.
Union groups frame the farmers’ struggle as a fight for survival that exposes broader social needs. They argue that successive governments, in aligning with EU directives and prioritizing corporate profitability, have sidelined the interests of rural communities. Farmers, they note, are seeking to preserve their livelihoods, remain on their land and continue producing affordable, quality food.
Workers’ organizations emphasize that the hardships faced by farmers stem from the same policies that leave citizens vulnerable to natural disasters, reliant on an overstretched healthcare system and lacking modern infrastructure.
These policies, they argue, fuel high living costs, erode collective bargaining, normalize excessively long working hours and channel public budgets toward military spending instead of social needs.
The rallying call stresses that public support for farmers is growing, as their demands mirror those of many working families. All unions, federations and labor centers are urged to participate.
Additional endorsements come from the Piraeus Labor Center, the Attica Federation of Artisan Associations, the Attica Accountants and Auditors Union, the Salaried Lawyers’ Union, the Telecommunications and IT Workers’ Union and the Federation of Greek Miners, among others.
A similar demonstration is scheduled in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos today at noon.
