DOI: 10.17903/fk2/t6xb9c
title: Modern history of GSEVEE 1997-2018, breaking the backbone of society

description: The aim of the study "Modern history of GSEVEE 1997-2018, breaking the backbone of society" is to highlight the transition of GSEVEE in the 21st century, to delimit the intersections and continuations of this course in relation to the historical questions of each conjuncture and to describe the modern physiognomy of the largest body of trade union representation of small entrepreneurs in Greece. The documentary material was taken from the Historical Archive of the Confederation, its website, from interviews with historical and active executives of GSEVEE - a process which was a parallel and combined work with the elaboration of the present study - as well as from newspapers and other publications. of the period. The introduction deals with issues related to the position and character of the EBE stratum in Greek society, as they were put at stake during the economic crisis, and outlines a periodization of the modern history of GSEVEE. The small and medium-sized enterprises were treated as the interpretive key for all the pathogenesis of modern Greek society and in the face of these representations the GSEVEE was called upon to identify and redefine the collective expression of the petty bourgeoisie. The first part begins with the hopes and visions for a new trade unionism, European and modern, in line with the new directions of the era of European integration, technological revolutions and a messianism around the coming of the new millennium. It describes the break-up of the 1997 Congress and the process of crystallization, until the end of the 2000s, of a documented trade union, the role of the social partner and the modern European practices of pressure groups, but without abandoning the traditions of militant trade unionism. previous period of democratization. GSEVEE emerges as a serious and reliable interlocutor of governments, the European Union and other social partners, with great opportunities for intervention in favor of the small and medium strata and society at large. However, fixed issues and problems of small and medium-sized enterprises remained open or intensified due to the emergence of large business groups. The second part covers the period of the economic crisis and the resistance of the stratum towards the memoranda. The Confederation, standing against the policies of disintegration and targeting of the small and medium class, organized resistance at every level, both with militant actions and with consultations. At the same time, it elaborated and put forward bundles of demands, helped capture the economic reality and placed itself at a critical juncture, such as the 2015 referendum. Inside, different models of trade union expression are consolidated. With the end of the memorandum period, the Confederation begins the search for a modern trade unionism. The epilogue summarizes and theoretically frames the conclusions. For the period 1997-2008, the change of trade union paradigm is related to the de-industrialization and transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises. For the period 2009-2018, the destruction and survival of small and medium enterprises from the crisis and the memorandum legislation leads to the search for a new trade union example.