Thursday, November 10, 2022

Strikes flare in Europe as cost of living spirals

AFP , Wednesday 9 Nov 2022

European workers squeezed by the soaring cost of living went on strike in Belgium and Greece on Wednesday, with stoppages threatening to paralyse parts of Britain, France and Spain in coming days.



A hooded protester prepares to throw a Molotov cocktail at riot police outside the Greek Parliament during clashes in Athens, Greece, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. AP

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Spreading industrial unrest poses a problem for governments which are already spending billions trying to blunt the worst effects of rising prices, at least for the most vulnerable.

Europe is acutely affected by the fall-out of the war in Ukraine, which is exacerbating a global energy crisis, inflation and a scarcity of some food products.

The onset of winter, when energy bills spike, and repeated predictions of a looming, continent-wide recession are souring the labour mood even further.

Belgium and Greece saw general strikes on Wednesday, disrupting transport in their respective capitals, impacting businesses.

In Brussels, home to the European Commission and other EU institutions, workers were protesting inflation running higher than 12 percent -- well above the 10.7 percent average across the eurozone.

The country's biggest union, the FGTB, is demanding greater leeway to negotiate pay rises.

But the Belgian government counters that Belgian salaries are already indexed to inflation -- an arrangement not seen in most other countries.

The strike cut train services by 75 percent and closed the airport in the southern city of Charleroi, the main hub in the country for Europe's leading airline Ryanair.

Strikes in Britain and France


In Greece, ferries serving its many islands were among the transport lines halted by a general strike, the second to hit the country since September.

Greek unions are insisting on salary rises to cope with inflation which nationally has risen to 12 percent.

"The cost of living is untenable," read a large poster for the country's biggest union, the GSEE, calling for "social protection for all".

Stoppages were to be felt on Thursday in Britain and France, with the underground urban rail networks and busses in London and Paris to be severely affected.

A French union leader, Celine Verzeletti of the CGT confederation, predicted up to 200 "demonstration points", roughly the same as the last national strike in France, on October 18, when more than 100,000 people protested.

France is not as badly affected by inflation as its European peers, as the state holds stakes in the main energy companies and has minimised how far energy bills can rise.

Inflation in France is just over six percent -- better than elsewhere -- but with economic activity across the eurozone nosediving, hatches are being battened for what looks like a period of stagflation.

In Britain, where inflation is above 10 percent, worker protests over not being able to make ends meet are coming to a crescendo.

The Bank of England predicts the country is headed for a two-year recession, even though it was forced to hike interest rates, making it even tougher for UK households.

EU energy moves

On top of Thursday's stoppage in London's Underground, British nurses are to hold the first strike in the 106-year history of their RCN union at a date yet to be announced.

Late next week, hundreds of workers at Heathrow airport are to down tools for three days, between November 18 and 21, to demand better pay.

Their action could force the cancellation of flights to Qatar, which is to host the World Cup football tournament that kicks off on November 20.

British dockers, university staff, postal employees and the legal profession have all held, or threaten to continue strikes over pay eaten away by inflation.

In Spain, truck drivers have called an indefinite strike from next Monday. Their last stoppage, in March, led to empty supermarket shelves.

With labour protests mounting, the EU is looking at ways to take some of the sting out of energy prices.

The European Commission and member states are working on proposals to promote the joint purchase of gas and possibly impose a mechanism to cap the price of wholesale gas within the EU.

Details are not expected to be finalised until late this month, but the steps -- and unseasonably warm weather last month -- contributed to a fall in gas prices, though they are expected to rise again as winter bites.

The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said last week a "mild" eurozone recession looked likely -- but warned it would not be enough to bring down record-high inflation.


Paris commuters brace for metro strike as workers seek pay boost, more hiring

NEWS WIRES - Yesterday 

Paris commuters were bracing for bedlam Thursday as metro workers called a major one-day pay strike, the latest industrial action across France seeking relief from inflation.



Paris commuters brace for metro strike as workers seek pay boost, more hiring
© Benoit Tessier, Reuters

The walkout comes amid wider European protests over the soaring cost of living, after transport workers in Belgium and Greece also refused to work on Wednesday, and with Underground employees in the British capital also set to strike on Thursday.

The French capital's public transport operator RATP said nearly every line would be shut down or operating with only limited rush-hour service, and urged people to work from home or postpone trips if possible.

Only lines 1 and 14, which are fully automated with no drivers, will operate normally but risk being jam-packed.

The two main suburban rail lines called RER A and B, which connect central Paris with Disneyland Paris and the Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, will also see severe disruptions, the operator warned.

Related video: Thousands protest in Paris over soaring prices
Duration 1:43  View on Watch


Frequency of bus services will be cut by a third, while tram operations are expected to be nearly normal.

Unions have staged strikes across several sectors in recent weeks seeking pay hikes or increased hiring as spiralling energy costs feed into widespread inflation.

Union leaders are also hoping to step up pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as he prepares to revive a controversial pensions overhaul that would push back the official retirement age from 62 to 64 or 65.

But the Paris transport strike did not spill over into other sectors, with only the hard-line CGT union calling for general work stoppages that could match turnout of October 18, when authorities say 107,000 demonstrators turned out nationwide.

National high-speed train services will run normally, rail operator SNCF said, and only light disruptions are expected on regional lines.

Unions representing the RATP's nearly 70,000 employees say they are feeling the pinch of soaring prices, but are also overstretched because of insufficient hiring, resulting in increased sick leave.

That has led to increased service delays or lower frequency on busy metro lines in recent months, causing headaches for the system's roughly 12 million daily users.

The government is set to appoint former prime minister Jean Castex as RATP chief, with parliamentary panels giving their green light after questioning him this week.

"The most urgent issue... is the continuity and quality of service," Castex told lawmakers. "The heart of our job is to meet the expectations of our users."

(AFP)

Inflation strikes disrupt trains, flights in Greece, Belgium

Elena Becatoros Nov 10 2022  



PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
A Molotov cocktail explodes near riot police outside the Greek Parliament during clashes in Athens on Wednesday. Thousands of protesters march as public and some private sector workers walk off the job for a 24-hour general strike against price hikes.

Workers walked off the job in Greece and Belgium during nationwide strikes against increasing consumer prices, disrupting transportation, forcing flight cancellations and shutting down public services on Wednesday in the latest European protests over the rising cost of living.

In Greece, where workers were holding a 24-hour general strike, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki. Brief clashes broke out at the end of demonstrations in both cities, with small groups of protesters breaking off from the main march to throw Molotov cocktails and rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

The clashes were over within minutes. Police said one officer was injured in Athens, while two people were arrested in the capital and another eight arrested in Thessaloniki.

PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
Molotov cocktails thrown by protesters explode near riot police outside the Greek Parliament.

PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
Protesters gather during a rally outside the Greek Parliament during a 24-hour strike in Athens.

The strike disrupted services around the country, with ferries tied up in port, severing connections to Greece's islands, state-run schools shut, public hospitals running with reduced staff and most public transport grinding to a standstill.


Belgium's nationwide strike over cost-of-living increases snarled traffic through much of the country and disrupted businesses as workers set up picket lines at supermarkets and shopping centres.

GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT/AP
Empty rail tracks at the Brussels-North railway station in Brussels. A nationwide strike over the cost of living increases caused by runaway inflation and massive energy bill hikes linked to the war in Ukraine, snarled traffic through much of Belgium and affected businesses on Wednesday.

As the country's main trade unions called for wage increases, the action led most trains and public urban traffic to be reduced to a minimum and 60% of flights to be cancelled at Brussels airport. Staff in about two-thirds of hospitals in the French-speaking Wallonia region and Brussels joined in, with non-urgent appointments and operations postponed, the CSC union said.

Europe has faced a series of protests and strikes in recent months over soaring inflation. As Russia’s war in Ukraine has driven up energy and food prices, workers from nurses to pilots to railway staff have walked off the job, seeking wages that keep pace with inflation. Others have joined in by taking to the streets to pressure governments to do more to ease rising bills even as European leaders have passed energy relief packages.

PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
Riot police operate during clashes outside the Greek Parliament. Inflation was 9.8% in Greece in October – a drop from 12.1% in September.

And more are ahead. Half the Paris subway system will shut down Thursday during a strike for higher wages, part of a nationwide day of walkouts and protests by train drivers, teachers and other public-sector workers.

It builds on multiple actions in recent months by French workers demanding wage hikes to keep up with high inflation. Last month, a pay strike by oil refinery workers caused nationwide fuel shortages that disrupted lives and businesses, prompting the government to intervene to force them back to work.

Britain's largest nursing union, the Royal College of Nursing, said Wednesday that its members had voted to strike at a majority of hospitals and health centres across the country. No dates have been set for the walkout, which will be the first nationwide strike in the union’s 106-year history.

JACK TAYLOR/GETTY IMAGES
Britain’s NHS health workers are planning a walkout, which will be the first nationwide strike in the union’s 106-year history.

The UK has not had a general strike for almost a century, but labour unrest has been spreading across both public and private sector workplaces as inflation has crept above 10%. Railway staff, postal workers, lawyers, British Telecom staff, dockworkers and rubbish collectors have all staged walkouts.

In Greece's capital on Wednesday, no buses or trolleys were running, while only one of the three subway lines was operating, running a limited service only until the afternoon.

PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
Thousands of protesters march through the streets of Athens and the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki as public and some private sector workers walk off the job for a 24-hour general strike against price hikes.

Flight traffic controllers had been due to participate in the strike with a six-hour work stoppage but had to reverse that decision late Tuesday after a court deemed their participation illegal. However, airlines had already cancelled dozens of flights, which they could not all reschedule at the last minute.

Passengers arriving at Athens’ international airport had extremely limited options to get into town, with no bus, regular taxi, subway or suburban railway services available. Crowds gathered at car rental agencies, while others tried to leave on intercity buses, which were the only form of public transport still running.

“Workers along with unions are fighting against increased prices that are drowning Greek households,” said GSEE, a confederation of private sector trade unions, citing price hikes for energy and basic goods.


PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP
A protester holding a flare shouts slogans during a rally in Athens, Greece.

Unions called for an increase in salaries and in the minimum wage, which is just over 700 euro (NZ$1190) per month for salaried workers, and bolder measures to tackle inflation.

Annual inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, including Greece and Belgium, hit a record 10.7% last month, largely driven by higher energy prices. Inflation was a bit lower in Greece at 9.8% in October – a drop from 12.1% in September – and higher in Belgium at 13.1%, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.

GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT/AP
Trade union members demonstrate in front of Engie headquarters in Brussels. Inflation in Belgium hit a record 10.7% last month.

GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT/AP
Belgian trade unions say gas prices have gone up by 130% in just one year, electricity by 85% and fuel by 57%, while food prices also have increased. Two women walk on a deserted platform in the Brussels-North railway station in the capital.

GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT/AP
A day of nationwide strikes in Belgium over the cost of living increases caused by runaway inflation and massive energy bill hikes linked to the war in Ukraine.

Belgian trade unions say gas prices have gone up by 130% in just one year, electricity by 85% and fuel by 57%, while food prices also have increased.


https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/download/mass-str.pdf

Development of the Mass Strike Movement in Russia. IV. The Interaction of the Political and the Economic Struggle. V. Lessons of the Working-Class Movement ...


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