(29 September 2011) We were more than 50,000 in Wroclaw to say "No to austerity" and “Yes for job!”. It has been the fifth European mobilisation in a year but our leaders both at European and national level keep preferring to calm the markets rather than to address workers demands for jobs. The workers are getting angrier as time goes by and no real alternative is proposed to the crisis. Not only there is no real alternative but as we write these lines the Economic Governance is being finally voted, after many months of suspense and negotiations, as well as opposition by the trade unions and civil society in general. The European Parliament has reached an agreement with the European Council and adopted the 6 pack.
After the summer we have seen an stepping up of the mobilisation of unions across Europe. We have reported about the Spanish mobilisations against the Constitutional reform, the Italian general strike, etc. As the crisis keeps biting and Governments claim the need to "calm the markets" austerity measures are implemented: pension reforms, wage freezes, erosion of collective bargaining, wage cuts, staff cuts. The unions are responding:
On October 1st public sector workers will march in Portugal and Scotland over austerity measures, four days later Greece will go through its thirteenth one-day general strike since the beginning of the crisis and another is set for October 19th. The French unions are mobilizing, through the “intersyndicale” in a day of action on October 11th, British public sector unions, all affiliated to EPSU, are balloting for a national strike on November 30th, Hungarian trade unions will continue its campaign against the reforms of the labour code on October 1st and last but not least on October 8th public sector workers are also demonstrating in Italy against labour shortages in several sectors like education and health. This is the current climate and we just finished the summer a week ago!
On the European side, the pipeline is filling up with issues: Revision of the Working Time Directive, Concessions, Public Procurement, State Aids… We will be informing about it in the coming weeks.
Finally, we will continue to demand the introduction of Eurobonds and a broad base financial transaction tax (FTT) now! at a European level as a first step for a global FTT. Even tough the European Commission has announce a draft Directive we will continue our campaign. For EPSU the need to crack down on financial speculation and inject progressivity in taxation regimes is still high on the agenda. EPSU will keep up the pressure demanding a broad base FTT for jobs, green growth and global justice.
Now it is time for struggle and solidarity!
Wishing you the best,
Carola Fischbach-Pyttel
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