From June 7th, the restaurant barthelonika in the centre of Thessaloniki is working in a self-organised manner, run by its workers. It all began when the owner of the restaurant announced to the workers that the restaurant will close for three months during summer and that he will decide its fate in September. The workers, from their part, claim the business is making profit and there is no reason for it to suspend its operation.
And so, they made an informal agreement according to which the workers themselves will take on the running of the restaurant for two months, in order for them not to become unemployed.
Now, as they tell us, the restaurant barthelonika is “working normally without bosses, managers and hierarchical relationships. We all decide together about everything, we find suppliers and look after the place. In this climate of crisis, if we accept the decisions of the bosses without reaction we will be lead straight to abjection”, they stress out.
Immediately after taking on the management of the restaurant, the workers applied a 30% reduction on all dishes and have invited the society of Thessaloniki to support this self-organised project. On Sunday the kitchen of barthelonika is transferred to the Anti-racist Festival, where the workers decided to attend and cook for its visitors.
translation of an article that was published in the greek newspaper “the street” (O Dromos)
5 Comments
NICE !!!
Metro workers in Madrid, Spain, self-organised their own strike today against wage cuts, in defiance of ‘minimum service agreement’ and Union officials. Strike technically illegal, but despite this, the MASS ASSEMBLY of workers voted for action…Strike continues tomorrow and Friday, but within minimum service agreement-”Despite the concession the workers spokesman has insisted that ‘the conflict is not over’ and that a vote on indefinite strike action will take place on Monday, after a weekend truce. He said that they would meet minimum services on Thursday and Friday, not for the politicians, but for the citizens. The workers spokesman added that the gesture would end the moment that the first worker is disciplined for not meeting minimum services.”
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_26571.shtml#ixzz0sMgN4OPc
This is the first strike on the Metro in TWENTY YEARS -And the workers opted for self-management from the start!- Impressive also, no?
I wish I was near Thessaloniki, I would pop down to the restaurant. Well done Barthelonika’s workers – you are an example to us all!
All Power to the Self-Governing Restaurants.
Solidarity and Love from a Cypriot living in Scotland.
thank you so much for this article.
How they are now?
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] По материалам сайта: http://blog.occupiedlondon.org/2010/06/30/323-thessaloniki-greece-the-first-self-organised-resta... [...]
Post a Comment