The tobacco workers' movement
Tobacco workers have been among the most active members in terms of unionization and the assertion of labor rights. Tobacco workers' unions are established in Athens, Xanthi, Kavala and Thessaloniki, with the aim of improving working conditions, financial support in periods of unemployment and the establishment of fixed working hours with the corresponding daily wage.
Strikes of the tobacco workers
Through their massiveness, the Tobacco Workers managed in a relatively short period of time to achieve more favorable working conditions and the securing of their already acquired labor rights
1925
The first strike of the Tobacco Workers of Kavala takes place in February 1925, while clashes and uprisings also occur in March of the same year, with requests regarding daily wage issues and more.
1928
In June 1928, the first uprising took place, which ended in incidents with mounted gendarmes and shootings, and repelling the tobacco workers with water pumps on Poulidou Street in the Panagia district. Fire was ordered in the warehouses of Orian Tobacco and 8 people were injured, while the entire summer of 1928 was characterized by hot incidents, with the gathering of 5000 tobacco workers in Agios Athanasios, incidents in Eleftheroupolis and barricades on the streets of the Hellenic and French Republic.
1933
On the occasion of the Benviste company's decision to fire all male workers as they are going to implement a different technique instead of the classic tobacco processing, the so-called "Toga", the workers initially protested to the management of the company. They are then locked inside the tobacco warehouses as a last measure of protest, the women and children march from Omonia to the Kavala Prosecutor's Office, while the city authorities block off the area around the Tobacco Warehouses, leaving the imprisoned workers without bread and water. The workers, in turn, call on the townspeople to support them, in contrast to the authorities and the Tobacconists, who, fearing the destruction of production and a wider uprising, seek to suppress the rebellion. On the fifth day, an order is given to remove the gendarmerie from the site, justifying the demands of the strikers.
1936
Also characteristic is the all-trade strike in April 1936 on the occasion of the illiberal policy pursued by Ioan Metaxas. In Thessaloniki, the striking tobacco workers reach 5,500, while in Kavala there are around 500. More generally, there is a constant effervescence governed by continuous struggles with the aim of improving working conditions and hygiene, the establishment of sanatoriums for the treatment of their sick colleagues as well as the improvement of medical care and retirement conditions, as the life expectancy of workers did not exceed 33 years.