Spain and Portugal Protest Against Austerity
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Trade unions have coordinated a series of general strikes across Spain and Portugal, as well as 20 other countries, with thousands taking to the streets in protest against austerity measures which are destroying public services and jobs.
Organised by the European Trade Union Confederation, the so-called European Day of Action and Solidarity calls on leaders to address growing social anxiety and abandon austerity measures, in favour of jobs, which have been blamed for prolonging and worsening the eurozone’s economic crisis.
Trade unions have coordinated a series of general strikes across Spain and Portugal, as well as 20 other countries, with thousands taking to the streets in protest against austerity measures which are destroying public services and jobs.
Organised by the European Trade Union Confederation, the so-called European Day of Action and Solidarity calls on leaders to address growing social anxiety and abandon austerity measures, in favour of jobs, which have been blamed for prolonging and worsening the eurozone’s economic crisis.
According to organisers, some 40 groups from 23 countries will participate in Wednesday’s protests with strikes expected in Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy, as well as other protests planned in Belgium, Germany, France and some eastern EU states.
In countries like Britain, there will be solidarity demonstrations showing the depth of public opposition in support of the struggles across Europe and in defence of their own welfare systems.
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The international coordination shows “we are looking at a historic moment in the European Union movement,” said Fernando Toxo, head of Spain’s biggest union, Comisiones Obreras.
Europe’s austerity drive has spawned several strikes in individual countries before but the fact that this is “a coordinated, multi-national mega-strike” makes it a force to be reckoned with.
“What makes Wednesday’s strike even more threatening to Europe’s managerial elite is the strong support it is receiving from traditional labour groups that rarely send their members into the streets—foremost, among them, the European Trade Union Confederation, representing 85 labour organizations from 36 countries, and totalling some 60 million members,” TIME said.
In a statement, the ETUC said:
[quote] Austerity is a total dead end and must be abandoned. [/quote]
“By sowing austerity, we are reaping recession, rising poverty and social anxiety,” the union confederation’s general secretary Bernadette Segol said in a statement.
“In some countries, people’s exasperation is reaching a peak. We need urgent solutions to get the economy back on track, not stifle it with austerity. Europe’s leaders are wrong not to listen to the anger of the people who are taking to the streets.”
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Segol added:
[quote] The Troika can no longer behave so arrogantly and brutally towards the countries which are in difficulty … The ETUC is calling for a social compact for Europe with a proper social dialogue, an economic policy that fosters quality jobs, and economic solidarity among the countries of Europe. We urgently need to change course. [/quote]
