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European unions stage day of action over spending cuts

30 September 2010 04:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Unions planned a day of demonstrations across Europe on Wednesday to express anger at austerity measures being adopted around the continent and to demand plans for more jobs and growth, APA reports quoting CNN.
The day of action was being organized by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which includes trade unions from 36 European countries and says it has a total of 60 million members.
"Cutting in a recession is crazy, and we must fight it," said John Monks, ETUC’s general secretary.
Monks said he expected 100,000 people to turn out for a demonstration Wednesday in Brussels, Belgium.
Rallies were also planned in Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Ireland and France.
The protests coincide with a general strike in Spain, which analysts said could have a huge impact if unions disrupt commuter trains and subways used by millions of Spaniards.
Unions and officials have discussed minimum services for rail transport, but massive traffic jams are expected as people try to get to work.
Unions had already disrupted rail transport in the country’s capital Wednesday morning. And CNN affiliate CNN+ reported that a protester was hit by a bus and injured in Barcelona.
Spain’s labor minister told reporters that, overall, the day had gotten off to a peaceful start throughout the country. But he noted that the government would do what was necessary to ensure the rights of all citizens.
"We understand that the union pickets have a purpose of informing people, and they can exercise this right. We don’t have anything against that," Labor Minister Celestino Corbacho Chaves said. "But we think that another right is just as important, that any citizen who wants to go to work can do so in a normal fashion."
Corbacho declined to give a figure for the strike turnout. Unions were claiming initial success.
"This is the worst economic crisis in the post-war history of Western Europe," Monks said earlier this week. "We call for a rethink and a change -- in Spain and in Europe -- on September 29. We are mobilizing; they will have to listen to us."
In Spain, unions are upset with the government’s labor reforms, which freeze pensions and cut the salaries of government workers.
The government says the changes will ease Spain’s deficit and recession and make for a more competitive economy. Unions, however, say the reforms will lead to more temporary and low-paying jobs.
What led Spanish unions to call for a strike Wednesday was that the reforms make it easier for companies to lay off workers, especially higher-paid ones.
One of those workers is Rafael Garcia, a machinist who makes plastic plumbing tubes and is also the union shop steward.
"Historically, we’ve advanced in workers’ rights. Now, we’re going backwards," Garcia told CNN.
Garcia has worked at the factory for 18 years. Previously, if he were laid off, he could expect 45 days of severance pay for every year worked. But under the new rules, that number could drop by more than half, to 20 days of severance pay per year worked.
Despite a lot of publicity for the Wednesday strike, it’s not clear how many will actually walk off the job. A survey in a major Spanish newspaper showed just nine percent of workers would strike.
Spain already has 20-percent unemployment -- the highest among countries using the euro currency -- and many see the reforms as inevitable and necessary.
Several people told CNN they would cross picket lines to avoid losing a day’s wage.
"I will go to work. If not, I’ll have to make it up another day," said an actor working on a new movie being filmed in Madrid.