Marxist, XXXI 4, October–December 2015
Document
Theses of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of Greece
The KKE and its role in the development of the labour movement and the People’s Alliance1
The working class, that is to say the class which will carry out the socialist revolution, and its allies, the popular strata, i.e. the semi-proletarians and the poor intermediate strata – taking into account contemporary conditions – experienced an unprecedented decline in the living standards, and their labour and social rights, due to capital’s strategy and the counter-revolutionary overthrow which took place in the 1980s and 1990s.
After the fall of the Junta and mainly in the first half of the 1980s, the Greek capitalist state followed a selective policy of providing higher benefits in various sectors and fields which created a large protective shield for the prevailing political line. It became a pillar of support for the most reactionary and anti-labour choices of capital in Greece, such as the support for the single European market, the accession to the EU-EMU, and created the labour aristocracy. For some years Greek capitalism benefited from the major destruction in the Balkans, in countries of the Black Sea, due to capitalist restoration there. It also benefited through the direct export of capital and the entrance of a cheap labour force, particularly as agricultural workers, and in construction sector, in the hospitals as auxiliary staff, in the services and manufacturing, via contractors.
The manifestation of the prolonged absolute destitution occurred in Greece, as well as in other capitalist states, following an extended period of buying off and assimilating workers. This period had as a result the gradual retreat and disorganization of the labour and trade union movement, the loss of its mass characteristics, the chronic compromise with the degeneration of its highest structures and the toleration shown by members of trade unions regarding their government-led and employer-led and pro-EU leaderships.
The farmers’ union and cooperative movement were subjugated and degenerated by the choices of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), by subsidies which bought off the farmers and in essence led to the abandonment of agricultural production, to the replacement of vital cultivations by secondary and supplementary ones, to the utilization of cooperative associations for the concentration of capital. The negative consequences had already manifested themselves from the middle of the 1990s onwards, which resulted in the leaderships of the farmers’ movement (GESASE, SYDASE) becoming the objects of disdain and to the emergence of farmers’ struggles with other organizational centres. The National Union of Young Farmers is being promoted (PENA), separating farmers on an age basis, fostering entrepreneurship and competitiveness in the agricultural sector, i.e. the EU’s CAP.
The situation in the movement of the self-employed is even worse. Forces which express the interests of a section of the intermediate strata seeking a satellite role in relation to the monopolies dominate the third level bodies of GSEVEE, ESEE and the majority of the Federations. They use the Centres of Professional Training (KEK) as a mechanism for corrupting and buying off consciousness, systematically downgrading the role of the trade unions. In certain union bodies, especially in the professional chambers, representatives of the monopolies are prevalent. They form positions which come into opposition with the immediate and long-term interests of the poor self-employed.
With the exception of the section of the labour and trade union movement which is rallied in PAME, of the self-employed which rallied in PASEVE (Nationwide Anti-monopoly Rally of the Self-employed and the small Tradesmen) and that of the farmers which is rallied in PASY (All Farmers’ Militant Rally), with the hard efforts of the KKE, the working class and popular masses found themselves significantly unprepared in the face of capital’s new offensive and the already major material losses. In the new period of reformism-opportunism, in conditions of a prolonged economic crisis they became easy prey for practices such as: the flattery of the spontaneous in opposition to the organised labour trade unionism and the struggle in the form of, sectionalism, as well as bourgeois, petty bourgeois and church-based charity. The doors were open for provocations and every form of intimidation by the employers, state and para-state.
The labour movement was not prepared to counterattack in a way which was in proportion with the scale of the offensive unleashed against it in the new conditions. Despite all this, the compromised leaderships carried out certain maneuvers, they were dragged into repeated strike mobilizations, even if they did not essentially support them, under the pressure of the sudden deterioration of the people’s living standards, the militant initiatives and activity of its class-oriented section. A sudden upsurge was expressed with the mass strike mobilizations of 5th May 2012 and 19th October 2011, on the demonstration of 12th February 2012, as protests against the signing of the memoranda between the government, EU and IMF.
Certain extended strikes were carried out. The most characteristic example was the almost 9-month strike at “Greek Steelworks” and the moral and material solidarity with the strikers which had a nationwide and international dimension.
The trade union and labour movement has not been essentially regrouped based on the sector, the business group and the organization in the workplace, it has not acquired mass characteristics. It has not become combative using the weapon of the mass and well-protected strike against the capitalist, as well as against the state of the capitalists.
In this period, with the decisive contribution of the KKE, particularly on the basis of the decision of the Nationwide Party Conference regarding the work in the working class and party building (March 2010), a certain foundation was created which constitutes a legacy for the organization of working class and popular forces and the orientation of their struggle against the large capitalist businesses, the monopolies, their imperialist unions, their parties and governments. The labour and trade union pole of PAME (All Workers’ Militant Front) has been recognized by a significant number of workers, and correspondingly the anti-monopoly rallies of PASY and PASEVE, the radical poles of MAS (Students’ Militant Front) and OGE (Greek Women’s Federation) in the radical students and women’s movement. The coordination of their activity with a common framework of struggle formed and promoted by the KKE and its cadres in these organizations is also a legacy. The militant initiatives of PAME, its activity as a whole, the battles in the workplaces and the sectors contributed to the formation of a militant vanguard, which can contribute to the regrouping of the labour movement. There is also a need to develop the social at the level of the sector, which is still in its initial phase.
The labour and people’s movement in Greece emerged at a European level as a combative force, despite the fact that compromised reformist forces, which have operated in a treacherous way for a long period of time, are dominant in the central trade union bodies.
The contribution of the KKE was important in promoting the slogan of disobedience and defiance of the banning of strikes, state and employer intimidation, the emergency taxes, head-taxes, in the immediate drastic intervention to reconnect electricity to families from the popular strata, for the abolition of the new heavy taxes in health, of the charge on care, as an element for strengthening the movement and making it more experienced. The working class, the popular strata learn through such experiences not to be afraid of the law or punishment, the sacrifices that the class struggle, the people’s struggle entail, to take their just cause into their own hands. Such initiatives must be multiplied, as they educate, provide experience for the conflicts which will intensify and become more demanding in the future. The slogan of disobedience and defiance as an element of the counter-attack must be rooted above all in the workplaces, in the factories, in the sectors, so that broader popular masses can be rallied and militantly educated. The mass counter-attack should be supported on the basis of the individual’s responsibility regarding the uprising, the people’s intervention, the concentration, rallying and cooperation in the political social struggle.
The People’s Committees in the neighbourhood are a seed, a first form for the People’s Alliance and for this reason their formation must acquire a clear character with an orientation of resistance and conflict against every governmental and other vehicle of bourgeois power. The People’s Committees express the joint activity, the joint struggle of social forces, i.e. they are the particular expression of the Social Alliance in the neighbourhood. Their creation and development responds to the contemporary social reality where the factories, the businesses, the industrial zones are a long distance from the homes of the workers and employees. Other forms of the People’s Alliance can develop in the sectors or across various sectors and regions. This development will enrich the experience and more generally the arsenal of the working class and its allies. The following issues are crucial for the character of the People’s Committees:
· The participation and mobilisation of broader popular forces on a social-class basis.
· The formation of the People’s Committee by trade unions and other organizations which belong to PAME-PASEVE-MAS-OGE and are expressed at a local level.
· The intervention everywhere where popular forces are active in order to put forward correct demands.
· The responsibility of every component of the alliance for its area of responsibility, and the simultaneous coordination between them.
· The connection with local organizations and groups of workers.
The forces of the KKE in the People’s Committees are responsible for the development of this new form of organization and, at the same time, for the maintenance of the independent ideological-political-organizational presence and activity of the party.
The activity of various bourgeois “patriotic”, petty bourgeois nationalist, fascist and as well as opportunist political currents and forms of bourgeois institutions is a trap for the orientation of the struggle of the working class and popular masses, in conditions of a prolonged economic crisis, and even more so of a certain political instability.
In such conditions together with the development of the mobility of the popular forces, the phenomena of disorienting this mobility in various directions intensify: volunteer activity which replaces the struggle to win things from the state, anarchist attacks and clashes with the forces of repression, national socialist-racist-fascist activity etc.
The development of activities and “movements” for the management of the sharpening problems of the people, the so-called “movement without middlemen” etc was promoted, particularly in the recent months with the contribution of forces of opportunism. This includes a large variety of activities which are connected to the action of state institutions, municipalities, the church, the NGOs, organizations etc. Their activity leads to the formation of mechanisms for the assimilation and the demobilisation of the poor popular strata, so that they become reconciled with poverty and the consequences of the crisis, so that they give up on the resistance, the disobedience, the counterattack, class solidarity.
There needs to be a stable orientation to mass forms of organization of the working class in order to neutralize these misleading interventions in the working class and popular masses, particularly in the most inexperienced and destitute, the young unemployed, the immigrants, the school students.
The so-called “movement of the indignant citizens” and the “squares”, was supported and encouraged – if it was not indeed planned- by mechanisms of the bourgeoisie, with the aim of manipulating, preventing radicalization, by channelling sections of the labour aristocracy and petty bourgeois strata. A section of the workers and unemployed was attracted to this “movement”. Both right and left-wing opportunism allied in its ranks. The prevalent slogans were reactionary, slogans of the petty bourgeois democracy, with the aim of striking against the class-oriented movement. Particularly at the beginning, popular masses were rallied which have not acquired the necessary political experience, supporting another option for the management of the system which allegedly would stop the downward spiral, would solve their problems. This line for rallying disparate masses was also expressed later by the voting criteria in the electoral battles of May and June 2012.
The well-known issue arises regarding which forces will be at the head of and influence the movement of the masses. The working class and its alliance in an anti-monopoly direction or petty bourgeois forces which foster illusions about the potential of a pro-people solution without a rupture with the capitalist relations of production.
This is why it is important to struggle for the change of the correlation of forces and why the pre-conditions for the strengthening of the class struggle are significant.
The course of party building
After the Nationwide Conference of March 2010, for the regroupment of the labour movement and the Extended Plenum of the CC on party building in July 2010, significant efforts in the field of redeployment of forces and the new structure of the party were made. This does not constitute a narrow organizational measure, but is a measure for the orientation of the activity based on the character and the strategy of the party. The redeployment as a form and content of activity is one of the basic pre-conditions for party building in the workplaces, in the sectors, for the regroupment of the labour movement, the promotion of the social alliance.
The redeployment brought even more clearly to the surface difficulties for the orientation of the organizations to work in the working class and social alliance. There remain strong remnants of mistaken views which were fostered in the long period during which the main bulk of the party’s forces had an orientation of activity with geographical criteria and not with combined social-class criteria. Amongst other things, the view was prevalent that the activity of the party for its electoral strengthening, for the widening of its circle of influence is facilitated by the criterion of the place of residency, taking into account the difficulties which have increased in recent years in approaching the workers-employees in the workplace. Difficulties which flow from the consequences of the crisis (closure of factories, transfer of factories a long way from the place of residency, the fear of dismissal, the employer and state intimidation etc), which nevertheless demand even more focussed work, without a spirit of retreat and compromise in the name of existing objective obstacles.
The party building demands a full plan of action amongst the broad working masses, chiefly those that suffer more due to the capitalist crisis, a plan of action which faces – as far as it depends on the subjective factor – the factors which restrict recruitment, and also fully exhausts the possibilities which the dynamic activity of the party and its strategy include. The weapons which the party has at its disposal today are:
· The ideological weapons, the elaborations, the party publications which are a support and a resource for multi-facetted stable and permanent planned work, in order to generalize experience and propagate it amongst the widest possible working class masses. These weapons, to the level which they are utilised by all the party forces, can deal with mistaken views and ideological-political aspects which are posed by the enemy and impede activity. They form the suitable atmosphere and “incentive”. Even more planned work is needed which is addressed to the young age groups, to the women of a working class background.
· The political and cultural activity which fosters the class consciousness, the combativeness and contribution, selflessness and readiness for sacrifice, contributes to the rise in the political and cultural education and development which constitutes an important front against the bourgeois ideology in all its versions, against opportunism.
· The multi-facetted preparation and education of the workers through all the forms of struggle and their understanding of the timeliness and necessity of socialism. The bonds of communication and relations with the working men and women are developed on the terrain of the class struggle and the rallying over the sharpening problems. But this relationship is not enough for the voluntary acquisition of the honoured title of member of the KKE, without the existence of a level of preparation and awareness about the revolutionary character of the party and the strategy for socialism-communism.
· The systematic penetration in the working class popular masses, through propaganda and work in the movement, so that it can bear results over time.
Elements of such a plan are:
· The activity around the sharpening problems everywhere and the formation of the organs of struggle. Systematic activity on the problems of unemployment in combination with the mobilization of the unemployed themselves and their families.
· The specialized work in each sector, area, category of worker and by age-group and gender.
· The proper study and knowledge of the area.
· The acquirement of a wider understanding of the problems of the workers in our contacts with them.
· The mobilization of all forces.
· The engagement with allied strata and their organization.
Particular aspects are:
· The assimilation of the new recruits who objectively have not acquired the necessary political experience, the vigilance and strict monitoring of those who want to rejoin.
· Responsible work with the transfer of members from one party organization to another.
The social composition of the party as an element in the course of party building
There has not been substantial progress regarding the social working class composition of the party and the leading organs, which a crucial issue for the safeguarding of the KKE’s character. Consequently, the radical change and improvement of the situation is an immediate issue. The objective developments must not be ignored regarding the structuring of the economy and employment, as well as the consequences of the economic crisis, dismissals and the dominance of employer intimidation, the hiring regime and the labour relations in the employment sectors. The weaknesses and deficiencies of the party are reflected in the attempt to create substantial ideological-political bonds with the working class and its movement, and in the work with the youth, its class education. The ability of the CC regarding political guidance was not equal to the demands. This is also true of the political guidance work of the party organs and cadres as a whole. The following are particular areas of weakness:
· The care and assistance particularly for young working class cadres, so that they can overcome their limited experience, so that they do not reproduce practicalism, the alienation of organizational work from its ideological-political content, but so that they contribute to the correct planning for the escalation of the struggle. The same weakness and delays are related to the promotion of young men and women, who work and study, and graduate from the various professional training schools.
· The decisive improvement of political guidance, so that the party organs function and responsibly guide all the work in their area of responsibility, so that the cadres and members of the party and KNE actively participate in their trade unions. This means that must have a wide knowledge of their area of responsibility, the developments for example in the sector, the wider region, so that they have the ability to specialise the directions, and provide substantial assistance to the Party Base Organizations (PBOs) and the party groups, so that they develop creative initiatives. The PBOs and party groups must adapt to the sectoral, local needs and at the same time support in a coordinated way the central activities of the Party. The content of the PBOs must become more specific, according to their area of responsibility and the duties of every party member.
· Despite the important steps that have been taken, through multi-facetted party activities, discussions of documents, militant events for anniversaries, there was not a sufficient and substantial focus on the observance of the principles of the formation and functioning of the party and on the treatment of the related issues in an educational, persuasive and decisive way. The tolerance due to underestimation, friendship or whatever spirit of subjectivism is a phenomenon which undermines – regardless of intentions – collectivity, effectiveness and combativeness. Especially in today’s conditions, the treatment of these issues is a condition for party building, the development of the ranks of the party, its readiness and ability, its revolutionary physiognomy.
Because the social composition of the organs and organizations continues to be unsatisfactory, as we had no significant change and improvement, the following goals remain to be fulfilled:
· The increase of the percentage of industrial workers and the number of the Party’s Base Organizations (PBOs) in large companies of strategic significance.
· The strengthening of the percentage of the working class in the party.
· The increase in the recruitment of poor self-employed and farmers.
· The increase in the ages from 18 to 40. The direction must be understood, to be planned and to be transformed into systematic practical work based on the developments which have been witnessed over the last 20 years and especially in the conditions of the crisis. According to these developments the number of unemployed, workers with flexible labour relations, of workers who frequently change jobs etc is increasing rapidly.
· The increase of the recruitment of women for the strengthening their percentage in the organizations and also in the party organs.
Regarding the party organs and cadres
The extent to which the phase of the redeployment of the Party Organizations has been completed and stabilized must be constantly monitored by the CC and all the leading organs. This will enable them to respond to the main duties which are the organization of the class struggle, the party building in the companies, in the sectors, the promotion of the people’s alliance from the bottom up, so that it can be reinforced from above. One-sidedness in the orientation of sectoral and geographically-based organizations must be dealt with in cases it survives and is being reproduced. The same is true for the difficulty of a planned specialization of cadres in areas of responsibility which demand specific knowledge and correct orientation for dealing with this particular field from our strategic standpoint.
A new deployment of cadres and members based on the developments in the sectors and regions must be decided on by the organs in a planned way and without any hesitations. The plan for promoting and developing cadres, their utilization in a planned way must overcome the negative phenomenon which exists i.e. cadres having multiple assignments, which makes the quality of work difficult to achieve, and impedes the main and basic orientation towards the work in the working class and poor popular masses.
A section of cadres was not able to adapt to the contemporary demands of the struggle, to the new conditions which emerged, after the negative change in the correlation of forces, the consequences of the crisis, and this resulted in their development coming to a halt and the emergence of elements of retreat. This problem is related to the collective and individual assistance they receive, but is also related to the individual responsibility of the cadres to adapt to the new conditions, so that they do not get stuck in a rut, that they continuously improve, of course in line with their individual capabilities.
The general elaborations of the party, of the sections of the CC must be utilised. At the same time, the Regional Organizations must be in a position to assist in the specialization of the general study and to organize an examination of specific problems in their area of responsibility as far as possible in a scientific way. They must carry out at least a first attempt to study, so that they can provide material for the more general elaborations of the party.
The leading organs, starting with the collective and personal example of the members of the CC, must ensure the suitable atmosphere, so that a combative spirit is fostered in order to face difficulties. The combative spirit does not just require general slogans of enthusiasm but the adequate elaboration of the directions and decisions in general; their preparation for the sudden change in the developments, the assistance so that they do not submit to the rationale of the negative correlation of forces. They must exhaust every possibility to think hard about the improvement of the activity of the subjective factor, to utilize every possibility that exists even the most underground one.
What is required is the promotion of many cadres from the working class, with a background from the working class and popular strata, with assistance so that they acquire multi-facetted abilities and a good level of specialization in the areas they can, a good ideological-political level, capability regarding issues related to political guidance, orientation to the regroupment of the labour movement, to the development of the People’s Alliance. At the same time, members of the party who are scientists and artists must be utilised, so that they place their scientific endeavour and artistic creation in the service of the working class. This duty depends on the timely preparation of forces from KNE, their location, the planning of their development.
The cadres who are responsible for the political guidance of PBOs, and BOs of KNE need special assistance.
The cadres must acquire the ability to generalize experience by constantly drawing conclusions from the organs and ensuring the imparting of collective experience.
The eradication of practicalism which appears mainly in mass and organizational work is a serious issue, while the ideological work is endangered by routinism and standardization.
The assignment of the cadres to work in the political guidance of organizations, in the ideological field, in the ranks and organs of the mass movement must not lead to a one-sidedness of experience and orientation. All the cadres must have direct personal experience in propaganda and enlightenment, in the communication with the workers, in the struggles inside the ranks of the trade unions and other mass organizations, so that they can in a lively and specific way elaborate and specialize the tasks of the PBOs in the movement, in the ideological-political confrontation.
In addition, the ability of the party members to deal with every attempt to undermine the unity of the party, blunting of criteria in relation to party organization, slackness, organizational flabbiness, and liberalism must improve. An aspect of this serious issue is the creation of an atmosphere, so that every member of the party and KNE expresses their views in a substantiated way, the decision should be a product of as many proposals and thoughts as possible, so that well-argued answers are provided to views which are mistaken or express ideological confusion. In addition, a serious aspect is for the rich, older and more recent historical experience of the party and the international labour and communist movement to be utilized in the struggle against every form of opportunism.
The issue of the periphery of the PBOs and BOs cannot be left to chance and spontaneity or for supporters, friends and allies of the party only to be utilized during the period of trade union elections and national, local elections. Usually the periphery means all our known voters (which is a much smaller number than those who have periodically voted for the KKE), people who have been friends and supporters for many years. Our view regarding the periphery must be broadened to include all those who we come into contact with in the workplaces and the struggles, with all those each PBO has listed, orienting its activity above all in the factories, supermarkets, all the shops, regardless of whether they vote for us not. Active militants can become a force for our work, as well as friends, supporters and voters and some of them indeed over the course of time can acquire the title of party member.
There is a need for the periphery around the party to be consolidated in a planned way, with as a criterion the regroupment of the labour movement and party building, without placing obstacles in way of the communication with wider working class and popular strata. Because through such a periphery, new blood will enter the party, new forces will emerge for the vanguard of the movement in the conditions of crisis, a renewal will take place through the recruitment of younger working men and women. The issue of widening and renewing the periphery, utilizing it next to the party, is a permanent duty. Today it acquires even more significance, as the developments in the capitalist economy, in the structure of employment impose the need for planned work above all in the working class, the young age groups, in strata which are becoming impoverished, so that the periphery corresponds as much as possible to the character of the party and its strategy, its policy of alliances.
We must rid ourselves of out-dated, mistaken habits and practices of working with friends and supporters only regarding current political issues or treating them only as voters.
It is an obligation for all the PBOs to have as a goal the systematic ideological-political work with and the briefing of friends and supporters, and also to study their opinions, so as to protect them from the work of the opponents who seek to utilise them as a vehicle of exerting pressure on the party.
The Communist Youth of Greece
KNE as the revolutionary communist youth of the KKE stood next to the party in the struggles, the general political activity, in the confrontations, over the 4 year period and made a serious effort to specialize the strategy of the party in places where the youth is concentrated, both as workers and students. It actively participated, with the responsibility and assistance of the party, in the discussion of its decisions and documents, and contributed to the enriching of its political and mass activity. Today a new generation of cadres of KNE has emerged. The maturation of these cadres enables them to be tested in more complex tasks by passing into the party work. It is a generation which has been militantly educated, as it has improved its political education and its experience from the major confrontations to a relative extent. A significant number of party members who were elevated in the organs of KNE have passed into the party and have renewed and improved the age composition of the organs. The promotion of young cadres from KNE to the party and the ranks of the movement is a permanent continuous process and must acquire a more intense rate through a process of promoting and developing cadres in the youth communist organization.
From 18th Congress onwards, even more serious work has been carried out by the CC and the City and Regional Committees regarding the ideological-political guidance of the organs of KNE, while there is an even closer cooperation of the PBOs-BOs than ever before. Nevertheless, however important this ideological-political assistance is, it is not enough. It must be completed through the assistance concerning the specialization of the strategy of the party not only in relation to the demands, the framework of activity, but also in relation to the specialization of the forms and ways of organizing and rallying the youth, as well as the tactical development of the struggles.
The Communist Youth of Greece is the organization of the youth of the KKE. It is established at the side of the party with a discrete organizational structure. It is guided ideologically, politically and organizationally from the Central Council to the Base Organization (BO) by the corresponding organs of the party, as the youth due to its very nature cannot have its own strategy and its own programme for the conquest of power. The relation between the character of KNE as the youth of the KKE and its organizational independence must be correctly implemented so that contradictions do not emerge.
It must not be considered that KNE has the exclusive responsibility of operating in the youth and its movement, with the party merely providing ideological-political guidance. The party itself, due to its character, programme and strategy has a direct responsibility to address itself to and develop its bonds with the youth. At the same time, it assists and supports KNE to specialise its strategy and decisions amongst younger age groups. This task today takes centre stage, as it constitutes an integral element for the regroupment of the labour movement, the Social Alliance, the renewal of the ranks and the cadres of the Party with new blood from the working class and the poor popular strata.
The party’s assistance to KNE includes the building of KNE, the communist education, the preparation for recruiting members of KNE to the party, the attraction of younger age groups to the labour movement and its allies and the strengthening of the People’s Alliance.
The developments in the working conditions of the youth, in their lives as a whole, have brought about such and so many changes which increase the responsibility of the party to develop ideological-political and organizational bonds with the younger age groups. Even people over the age of 30 maintain certain characteristics and a way of living which usually are associated with younger or even much younger age-groups, as they find it difficult to find work, to start their own family, with the result that they continue to be supported by their parents.
The ages of young couples who take on obligations and responsibilities for work, as well as the raising and education of children, have increased. An important section of young people are unemployed, have not yet found work, or were dismissed after a few months of employment in various sectors or in a disguised employment relationship etc. As a result they have not acquired ties with a specific sector and do not understand the need for trade union organization, so there are no direct channels of communication with the work of the party in the working class and its movement. It is to an extent easier to have contact with them in the place of residence, where there are schools, places of entertainment, sports, to the extent which they can have access to such facilities.
In reality, the party and KNE address themselves to the same social strata, which is also true in regards to the younger age groups whether they belong to the working class, the unemployed, the self-employed and farmers. The cooperation, the planning, the coordination must be in absolute harmony between the organs of the party and organizations of KNE, so that they can enrich each other. The party building amongst young workers is also a common goal with KNE’s goal to recruit on the basis of specific class criteria.
The activity in the schools, vocational education, in the whole network of training centres has more particularities. These are constantly being set up by the system, businessmen and self-employed as they provide even cheaper and easier to manipulate labour power, with even less economic and institutional rights. A similar specificity is characteristic of the activity in the universities and the Technical Institutes. In these places, due to their composition, KNE addresses itself to more forces, since the number of young people who study is far greater in comparison to the teaching and auxiliary staff, and consequently it possesses a greater number of organized forces than the party. The responsibility of the party in these places remains integral, while there must be a much more organized coordination and cooperation, so that the organizations of the party and KNE can act in joint way and specialize the directions etc.
Consequently, there must be certain changes which improve and make the cooperation of the organs of the party and KNE more substantial, so that they work jointly in the labour movement and its allies and in the places of education and training.
It is proposed that this issue should be better studied at a Nationwide Party Conference and after a relevant discussion in the organs of KNE.
Today in KNE, despite the progress that has been made in the elaboration of criteria for recruitment and testing out before they join the party, there are still problems such as a relatively delayed rate of recruitment in relation to the needs especially in the workplaces which employ younger age-groups, as well as in schools, technical schools, training centres, Technical Institutes, Universities. There continue to be delays in the assimilation of new members or even haphazard recruitment. These problems are the source for the haemorrhaging of forces under the pressure of sharpening difficulties which most young people experience.
These are generations which are experiencing major losses and shortages regarding their needs and feel on the one hand disgust with the bourgeois political system in its various forms, but at the same time are influenced by the atmosphere of the counterrevolution.
Regardless of the necessary adjustments, it is the responsibility of the CC and the leading organs of the party to face urgent issues such as:
· The deployment of party cadres in the leading party organs, who have acquired the ability or have the potential to acquire the specific ability to assist the organs and cadres of KNE, the orientation of the BOs. The care and planning in the promotion of leading cadres suitable for the various party organizations which work with younger age groups, who have the necessary special characteristics and knowledge of the problems and needs of the youth, their tendencies and orientations.
· Assignment of responsibility to members of the party who can also assist the specialization of the party and KNE’s work amongst young age groups, according to the place and their needs.
· The decisive improvement of the cooperation and assistance of the organs of the party and mainly of the PBOs in relation to the organs and members of KNE so as to prepare and assist the members of KNE as future members of the party, once they have passed though the special period of preparation and testing in the organizations of KNE.
· The stabilization of the General Assemblies of the BOs, the safeguarding of the atmosphere and assistance, so that the contribution of the members can be developed in the elaboration and implementation of the decisions, the study of the experience of activity amongst young age groups, the orientation of activity in the places where young people are found, the rallying in the struggle and in the ideological-political struggle. Problems regarding the reduced vigilance and the protection of the organization must be dealt with.
Notes
1 Excerpts from the Theses of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece for the 19th Congress, 11-14 April 2013.