On March 18th, 70 of us staged a protest at the ‘Sklavenitis’ supermarket on Velvendou Street, demanding a 15% price reduction for one hour. The attitude of the shop management, after communicating with its central office, was adamant. They even got to the point of threatening to call the police on people who claimed their basic right to meet basic needs; those needs defined by ourselves and not by some government coupon.
For more than an hour, after closing 5 out of 8 cash registers the merchandise circulation was blocked, while most of the people in the shop embraced the action with enthusiasm, standing in the checkout lines with us, shouting our slogans and hissing at the shop management. Hence, showing their willingness to claim not only a small part of the goods which have been stolen from us, but also some of the dignity that we are being robbed of, every day, by the bosses and state.
“Sklavenitis”, the most profitable company group in its sector in recent years remained adamant, showing once again its true face, that of cynicism and hypocrisy of the bosses when their sacred right to profitability is threatened. It is at that point when the mask of the “worker’s friend” and the company’s “social responsibility” is shattered. After all, supermarket bosses are also responsible for the shape of product prices on the shelves. This company’s face was seen not only by us, but also by everyone else around. However, this people also felt the true power of collective claiming and realized a way to practically deal with high prices. Even if we all know that we are still at the beginning of this path. Still, this beginning has already taken place.
Political groups against the high prices