By Brian Jones

The working class of Greece obviously still faces a huge uphill fight against the savage austerity measures being imposed on them to pay for the crisis created by the Greek capitalist class. The new ‘bailout’ package for Greece agreed by the Eurozone countries only represents the mildest of ameliorations of the terms of the previous such package – 21 per cent effective reduction in the size of debt on Greece’s bonds, reduction of interest rate for bailout funds from 5.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, and extension of the period of repayment. But nevertheless it contains a crucial lesson – struggle pays.

By Nicky Dempsey

Photo NunoRibeiro

The Portuguese general strike on November 24th registered a major increase in the response of the working class and its allies against the attacks on social welfare, pay and jobs. The government claim that there was only 30% support for the strike in the public, and even less in the private sector was widely derided.