VIOME IN THESSALONIKI

VIOME S.A. was founded in 1982 as a subsidiary of the Philkeram-Jhnston S.A. group. Located on the outskirts of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, the plant manufactures chemicals for the industrial sector. Due to the general economic recession and poor administration, the parent company went bankrupt in 2011, leaving the VIOME factory to its own devices. The only thing the owners left behind were huge debts which included, of course, unpaid wages. Desperate, and faced with the prospect of unemployment, the VIOME employees, who had been unionised since 2006, collectively decided to occupy the premises and call for solidarity. The initial reason for this occupation, beyond its importance as a means of struggle and symbol, was to ensure that the stock and machinery remained in the factory, thus preventing the owners from liquidating everything.

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE VIOME COOPERATIVE

A year and a half later, in 2013, with the help of a large solidarity movement, the VIOME workers took a big step forward: to take charge of the production themselves! They set up a cooperative in order to have a legal status, and the struggle began. From that moment on, instead of generating huge profits for the bosses through the exploitation of workers, the factory became a place of dignity for the members of the cooperative, a place of equal labour relations and decent wages. The second crucial decision taken by the workers in reopening the factory was the change of production: VIOME would replace its initial production with the production of natural detergents, eco-detergents and olive oil soaps, thus respecting the environment and human health. VIOME products are distributed through the Athens branch and the mail order office; but also through a number of social centres, squats, cooperatives and small grocery shops throughout the country. They are also exported to cooperatives abroad.

Working together.

Working at VIOME is nothing like working in any other factory. We don't think we are going too far in describing what happens as "bonding"; it is a process that establishes a living intimacy between work and production at VIOME, but also creates a real fusion between everyday life and political struggle. The events that led to the creation of VIOME, as it is known today, can help us to understand the strength of this situation. The occupation and recovery of the Thessaloniki premises represents one of the longest and most important workers' struggles in the modern history of this country. Through the occupation of the premises, the workers of VIOME, together with their supporters in solidarity, succeeded in preventing the closure and loss of jobs in the midst of a monstrous crisis, marked by austerity and unemployment.

They also actively participated in anti-austerity protests, supported other workers who wanted to replicate their example, and developed strong links of solidarity with a number of social struggles. After developing a relationship with the Argentinian 'recuperated enterprises' movement, VIOME adopted the slogan 'Occupy, Resist, Produce'. A slogan that shows the breadth of the political dimension of such a project; it could be described not only as a movement against the dominant neoliberal world, but also as a pre-figurative practice that creates a real alternative to the 'here and now'. The word 'movement' is particularly important. It is used to describe an activity - Occupy; Resist; Produce - that at one moment and at the same time emerges as a political struggle against neo-liberal hegemony and creates a future for our present.

What about the viability and sustainability of such projects? The number one danger is the eviction and auction of the factory, which has been cancelled many times, following protest actions by workers and members of solidarity collectives. However, this danger still exists. In addition, there were also bad decisions and internal difficulties, as the path to self-management was a terra incognita for everyone. Despite this, the workers of VIOME have managed to survive the last five and a half years, defining their own way of working, sharing successes and mistakes. By keeping their factory "alive", they have not fallen into the depression that comes with unemployment. The experience, the exchange of knowledge with other "recovered companies" and the social struggles have played a crucial role in allowing the VIOMEs to invent an alternative paradigm of how to work together. Since the first steps of this self-managed enterprise, the people involved have decided to follow a model that is based on two major decisions: the rotation of tasks in the production line and equal pay for all. This new way of working together is based on equality, horizontality and the direct participation of the members in the daily life of the company. Thus, all decisions - ranging from questions on production processes or daily tasks to broader issues and topics - are taken collectively, especially in the weekly general assemblies but also during the daily morning meetings.

Beyond the factory, popular infrastructure

Based on these organisational and operational innovations, which constitute what we have called a new paradigm of working together, VIOME has managed, slowly but surely, to increase the salary and to recruit a number of new people, 24 in total. This is in contrast to the sharp pay cuts and redundancies that are commonplace in capitalist companies. This has also allowed the development of new products, covering the needs of basic cleaning for households and business premises, while continuously improving quality; again, the opposite of the capitalist system which tends to degrade quality for the sake of profit. Finally, in contrast to the neoliberal logic of quick and temporary profit that goes hand in hand with the production of debts, VIOME puts forward a perspective of social contribution, creating new jobs and redistributing profits to society. This social interaction with society and localities, an interaction that is based on solidarity, conviviality and direct participation, clearly shows the difference between the recovered company VIOME and the capitalist production sites. As the municipality helped them to recover the company, the workers of VIOME decided to share their company with all the sectors that are close to them. Thus, at the heart of VIOME's social organisation is the Solidarity Initiative - a group in support of VIOME's struggles - which meets every week and is made up of students, residents, other self-managed enterprises and, of course, VIOME workers.

Par ces différentes activités de travail en commun, les travailleurs de VIOME et « la communauté des solidarités » ont réussi à créer une usine toujours ouverte et accessible pour tous ceux qui luttent. Dans ce contexte, beaucoup d’initiatives importantes ont été prises dans cette usine sans patron. Tout d’abord, la Cliniques des travailleurs à VIOME » : c’est une clinique sociale et solidaire, dans laquelle les médecins, les infirmièr.es et les psychothérapeutes proposent gratuitement des services de soins holistiques et de base aux VIOME, à leur famille, aux membres d’autres collectivités de travailleurs et travailleuses, mais également à tout citoyen.ne avec ou sans assurance médicale. La Clinique des travailleurs fut la première structure parallèle établie dans l’usine VIOME, un élément de la stratégie mise en place pour encourager la création d’autres projets autogérés à l’intérieur de l’entreprise récupéré. De plus, en 2015, au plus fort de la soi-disant crise des réfugié.es en Grèce, une grande partie des bâtiments a servi de lieu de collecte de matériels de soins d’urgence pour les milliers de personnes qui étaient détenues vers la frontière nord de la Grèce. En outre, depuis la réouverture de l’usine par ses ouvriers et ouvrières, une pléthore d’actions ont eu et continuent d’avoir lieu à l’intérieur de l’espace occupé VIOME : des ventes directes, des concerts, des représentations théâtrales, des présentations de livres, des projections de films par des productions auto-gérées… VIOME a accueilli la 2ème rencontre Euro/méditerranée de l’Économie par les travailleurs en octobre 2016. Le premier festival en extérieur, qui s’est tenu dans les espaces de VIOME du 12 au 14 octobre, a été organisé par un grand nombre de sociétés coopératives locales autogérées.

L’ouverture sociale de cette infrastructure populaire, comme celle de l’entreprise récupérée VIOME, dégage un horizon de possibilités à partir desquelles on peut repenser et envisager de nouvelles et créatives façons d’organiser le travail et la vie de tous les jours. Ce qui, auparavant, n’aurait pu être qu’un simple lieu de travail en vient à inclure une grande variété de relations sociales et affectives, de nouvelles émotions et solidarités. Non pas communautés utopiques et imaginaires, des initiatives telles que VIOME sont les lieux de réelles luttes quotidiennes, dans lesquelles les gens façonnent leur vie quotidienne, collectivement, à partir de de leurs besoins communs. En même temps, ils et elles créent des richesses communes, dans des relations d’égalité, d’attention et d’aide mutuelle. Nous comprenons ces lieux communautaires comme porteurs d’une nouvelle stratégie politique, visant la transformation complète du système social existant.

"VioMe is not for sale, the factory belongs to the workers," reads the statement in the warehouse where the finished products are stored. Fotini at her desk, with the screen to monitor the factory entrance. Several varieties of soap are offered for sale in Thessaloniki, but also in French cooperatives and around the world. Euripide returns from delivery on his scooter. He has been an employee of the cooperative for a few months. Affiches sur le mur The entrance to the Vio.me factory. A gate that is monitored by a camera 24 hours a day to prevent intrusion

Text source: https://www.lesutopiques.org/viome-a-thessalonique/ Image source: © Justin Carrette/Reporterre