All across Europe, workers are rallying against government by the bankers, for the bankers.
Portugal 24 November 2010
Portugal was brought to a standstill to press the Socialist government to scrap its regressive cuts programme.
The general strike against EU-mandated austerity, the first to be organised jointly by Portugal's two main unions since 1988, is the country's largest ever stoppage.
Trains and buses weren't running, planes were grounded and banking services halted.
General Union of Workers (UGT) head Joao Proenca said: "It is a bigger strike than the one in 1988 - it is the biggest strike ever."
CGTP general secretary Manuel Carvalho da Silva said: "I have never seen so many people support and identify so closely with the causes of a strike before."
Striking worker Leonore Pedro said: "We are protesting against the cuts because they mean we wont be able to meet our basic needs, pensioners won't have enough money for medicine."
Pensioner Leandro Martins added: "It's the workers who are paying for the crisis, not the bankers or the shareholders of big companies."
Britain 25 November 2010
Police tactics used against student protesters on Wednesday were condemned as "outrageous and unacceptable yesterday by anti-cuts groups the Coalition of Resistance and National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC).
An estimated 130,000 school, college and university students across Britain participated in the day of action, which saw protesters in London -some as young as 13 - pressed into an area at Whitehall for almost nine hours without access to food, water or toilet facilities.
Greece 25 November 2010
Hundreds of trade unionists and ex-army officers marched through central Athens today in yet another protest against the government's deep austerity cuts.
The small-scale demonstration was organised by umbrella groups representing public and private-sector workers, who also organised a three-hour work stoppage in the capital that disrupted public transport and services.
The Socialist government has slashed pensions and salaries, boosted taxes and facilitated private-sector sackings and wage cuts.
Greek trade unions are planning a full-scale nationwide general strike for December 15.
The Greek islands remained without ferry services for a third day today due to a strike by seamen who are pressing for collective wage agreements with shipping companies.
Ireland 25 November 2010
Irish civil servants were urged to take action by their unions today after the government announced plans to cull almost 25,000 staff.
The proposals to cut public-sector pay by £1 billion will see veteran workers working alongside newly recruited civil servants earning 10 per cent less.
Siptu general secretary Jack O'Connor said that the four-year "roadmap to recovery" had all the hallmarks of a roadmap back to the stone age.
"It's a declaration of war on lower income people in the country who contributed least to the cause of the problems," he said.
Impact, which represents 65,000 people across the health, local government, education and Civil Service sectors, said that pay for new staff will be almost 25 per cent lower than two years ago.
General secretary Shay Cody said: "The measures outlined are driven by the obsession with bailing out zombie banks rather than the need to stimulate economic activity to create jobs and get us out of recession.
He said that Saturday's national demonstration called by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions was the last chance to express broad public support for a more sane approach in advance of next month's budget.
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