Workers across Europe mounted coordinated protests on Wednesday Nov 14,2012 against government austerity policies
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) had called “a day of action and solidarity” against austerity measures, recession and “dismantling the European social model.”
The general strike in Spain and Portugal was the first joint one on the Iberian Peninsula.
Among those striking on Wednesday were railroad workers in Belgium; airline workers, autoworkers and teachers in Spain; civil servants in Italy; and transit workers in Portugal.
The Spanish police reported that 142 people had been arrested by evening, and 74 were wounded, including 43 police officers, mainly during violence on picket lines across the country.
About 700 flights to and from Spain were canceled Wednesday.The strike also severely disrupted automobile production at Spanish factories owned by Nissan, Volkswagen and other carmakers.
More than 130 demonstrations were planned for cities in France.In a joint statement, five leading French unions expressed their “strong opposition to these austerity measures that are plunging Europe into economic stagnation and recession” and that “threaten the European social model.” Marches in Paris, Marseille, Lille and Lyon each drew a few thousand participants.
No comments:
Post a Comment