From the 1980s onwards, Greece underwent a profound transformation as EU-driven neoliberal reforms imposed severe austerity measures, which led to a dramatic deterioration of the material conditions of the working class. Amid the counter-revolution in the USSR and the decline of class-based politics, trade unions became further absorbed into capitalist management structures.
To counter these reformist liberal forces, PAME was founded in April of 1999 by the KKE and more than 230 militant unions to restore the class-conscious trade union movement. Not a trade union itself, it is a rallying organisation and coordination centre to develop a united front from below, identifying capital as the enemy of the working class, and its overthrow is a necessity to end worker exploitation. PAME rejects class collaboration, opposing capitalism, imperialism and their most direct national expressions: the Greek state and the EU.
This united front from below is not only a means to improve workers’ conditions, but to transform economic struggle into political resistance. PAME’s effectiveness is evident in its consistent mobilisation: from delaying the government’s attempt to impose a 13-hour workday to acts of internationalist solidarity, such as port blockades and general strikes in support of Palestine.
Operating within a Marxist-Leninist framework, PAME maintains ideological unity with the KKE, which provides political direction, while maintaining tactical independence which enables broader worker mobilisation beyond party lines. Their relationship reflects Lenin’s view that without a vanguard and class-orientation, mass movements risk fragmentation or co-optation.
PAME offers a living example of how the labour movement can become a political force through unions. In Britain, decades of similar neoliberal policies and social-partnership unionism have pacified the labour movement. Despite similar union density, Britain workers fight isolated defensive battles, and even when successful, capital claws back its losses at the very first opportunity. PAME shows us how to reclaim collective power and drive revolutionary change from the very unions many have lost hope in.