Cause lacks clarity, united voice

Traditional farming unions upstaged by new and local groups


Despite the apparent united front
farmers have displayed at roadblocks
around Greece, the latest
protests have raised serious doubts
about the cohesion within the agricultural
movement and the viability
of the unions representing tillers
and breeders.
This year’s protests come at a time
when Greece’s agricultural landscape
is changing quite dramatically due to
subsidies drying up. But it also seems
that the way farmers represent themselves
and make key decisions is also
in the process of being transformed.
Beyond the parking of tractors on
national roads and at border crossings,
this round of protests has been characterized
by unclear demands, mixed
messages and a lack of leadership.
Traditionally, the Panhellenic Confederation
of Agricultural Cooperative
Unions (PASEGES) has been the voice
of the Greek farmer, or at least those
that are part of several thousand cooperatives
active in Greece. It has tried
to maintain a balance in its political
affiliations – for instance, on its board
sit 12 PASOK members, eight from
New Democracy and one from the
Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA).
Independent farmers have been represented
by the PASOK-affiliated
GESASE union and New Democracy
supporters by SYDASE.
However, these protests suggest
that PASEGES is now out of touch with
the common farmer and GESASE is
unable to capitalize on its links to the
government.
Both organizations have attempted
to hold talks with the PASOK administration
to resolve the dispute
over produce prices, state subsidies
and general reform of the agricultural
sector but have failed.
PASEGES found that its call for
farmers not to block highways fell on
deaf ears. Instead, the blockades appeared
to be organized at a local level,
where each group decided when
and where to block traffic and what
demands to make. Some of these collections
are affiliated to particular parties including the Communist Party
(KKE), which still has a strong presence
in the sector, while others appear
to be a mish-mash.
“Conditions are now ripe for farmers
of all political colors to form a united
front,” said ND-affiliated, Larissabased
farming unionist Christos
Sideropoulos ahead of a meeting
on Thursday, January 28, of
representatives from various
protesting groups.
Over the last couple of
weeks, a new group, the Panhellenic
Farmers’ Coordinating
Body, has emerged. It represents
a new, younger generation
of farmers from 14 prefectures. They
are more forward-looking than their
older colleagues and are interested in
preparing for the post-2013 era, when
European Union funding will begin
to dry up.
It all seems to point to a major
shake-up in the highly unionized
and very militant agricultural sector,
with PASEGES, where Agricultural
Development Minister Katerina
Batzeli worked as a consultant in the
past, likely to be the first victim.
“It is clear that the existing organizations,
particularly PASEGES, in
their current form do not represent
all the farmers,” said PASOK MP
Christos Papoutsis.
The changing nature of unionism
in the agricultural sector is to some
extent being brought about by the
gradual retirement of the farmers who
have engaged in repeated confrontations
with governments over
the last three decades, bar the years
when Andreas Papandreou was prime
minister, as his administrations
heaped subsidies and benefits on
stock breeders and workers of the
land. According to European Commission
figures, roughly 20 percent
of Greek farmers are aged 55 or over
compared to the 25 percent who are
between the ages of 25 and 44.
This injection of younger blood also
brings with it a different outlook.
A recent survey by Thessaloniki’s
Aristotle University indicated that 50
percent of farmers in Macedonia and
Thrace now have a computer and that
22.5 percent use the Internet. This
tech-savvy generation of farmers is
keen on cultivating crops in a different
way but also breaking with the
past when it comes to asking for help
from the government.
In fact, some of them have united
under the banner of the Panhellenic
Union of New Farmers (PENA), which
only accepts members under the age
of 40. Previous generations squandered
public funding and took part in
political battles, which helped some
agricultural union leaders become
MPs. But, according to PENA
spokesman Dimitris Michailidis, the
new farmers are better educated,
have chosen their profession because
they want to be successful and are interested
in investing in new technology
to become more efficient.
The future of Greek farming and its
unionization may lie in their hands.