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In Europe, Angry Workers Protest Austerity

Protesters are pushed away by Spanish police officers during a 24-hour nationwide general strike in central Madrid November 14, 2012.

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Al Pessin

November 14, 2012

LONDON — Workers in several European countries went on strike Wednesday to protest austerity measures designed to help their governments get out of debt, but which cut their salaries, pensions and benefits.

Angry workers chanted "strike, strike" inside Madrid’s main train station as they scuffled with police. Outside, workers blew whistles and set off firecrackers, as commuters rode by, many on bicycles for the day.

Commuter and inter-city trains were canceled in several countries, along with flights and other forms of transport, while government services and some businesses also went idle.

A student holds a lighted torch during a demonstration against austerity measures in downtown Rome, November 14, 2012.
A demonstrator blows a horn in front of Spanish riot police during a strike against government austerity measures in Pamplona, Spain, November 14, 2012.
Workers from Telefonica phone company take part in a demonstration against the dismissals at their company in Barcelona, Spain, November 13, 2012.
Protesters march through Syntagma square in Athens with flags of Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal, November 14, 2012.
A woman dressed as a nun holds a board reading "marriage for everybody" as part of a demonstration against austerity in Paris, November 14, 2012.
A protestor lies on the ground during clashes with riot police in Madrid, Spain, November 14, 2012.
Demonstrators hold a banner reading 'For solidarity in Europe' in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, November 14, 2012.
A protester covers her head in a plastic bag, meant to show that austerity measures are suffocating Greeks, outside Parliament in Athens, November 14, 2012.
Demonstrators march in Porto, Portugal, November 14, 2012.
Riot police clash with students in downtown Rome, November 14, 2012.

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“They are taking all our rights away," complained a Spanish union member who spoke for many of his co-workers. "The banks and other business people are bringing us onto the streets, they are stealing our salaries. We do not have any rights anymore.”

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault admonished workers to be patient in what is a global crisis, and said what is at stake is nothing less than the identity of the French nation.

“Today, this social model is in danger. There are many things to correct, to change, to modernize and to reform. And France will reclaim somehow its freedom and its autonomy," Ayrault said.

The one-day strike was called by the European Trade Union Confederation, which has called for more fairness as European countries work their way out of debt. The strike drew large numbers of workers in economically hard-hit Spain and Portugal, with less-widespread strikes in France, Italy, Belgium and Greece, which has seen large protests this week over its government’s latest austerity program.

At London’s Kingston University, labor union expert and Professor Craig Phelan is sympathetic to the workers’ concerns.

“It's a sense of crisis. It's a sense that austerity programs have not worked," Phelan said. "Trying to fight recession by simply making budget cuts hasn't been working in Africa, in South America for decades.”

Professor Phelan says the unions are right to urge governments to fight recession mainly through economic growth. That would require borrowing more money, which the European Central Bank and other international lenders are not willing to provide without austerity. But Professor Phelan says the political ground may be shifting.

“At this stage there is very little that can be done by political leaders," he said. "They have made this commitment, recovery through austerity, and they are kind of boxed in at this stage. We are going to see a continuation of these protests, lower productivity levels, increasing unemployment, insecurity. But it will lead to a change in policies in the next few years.”

That will likely sound like a long time to workers in countries that have already had several years of recession.

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Comments

by: MuckrakerW from: USA

November 14, 2012 2:42 PM

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Austerity is terrible. It means the current economic climate for the nation-state has a debt to GDP ratio of nearly 100 percent or more. Moreover, people are going to have to give up even more, meaning a standard of living akin to abject poverty lay ahead in order to bring down the debt. Austerity is worse than sequestration in America, but still both are signs that the debt and deficits, and interest on both are threatening to bring the country or nation-state to total ruin. Living below one's means when one has lived high off the hog for years, is what austerity is all about. Furthermore, inflation eats away all the money a poor person has if they have any at all. For some it means the end of the world. For others it means the world has already ended. When a nation-state reaches a level of austerity they are vulnerable to a total take over by the IMF....
www.globalbabbler.com

by: Sensi

November 14, 2012 2:11 PM

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So there was 0.0001 percent of the actual workforce striking? I just love how the media take things out of proportion and spin reality. It was nothing but business as usual here in Paris...

by: Trevor from: San Diego

November 14, 2012 2:05 PM

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Economies do well when manufacturing is doing well in that country or region. Eastern Asia is just out producing and creating cheaper products than Europe and USA can. Banks will only invest in growth. There is no growth in Europe because of the high cost to manufacture a "good" be it a toothbrush or a car. The only way the USA is keeping up with China, they are not though huge deficite, is new technology. Its a horrible cycle people want cheap products so they go over seas, thus loses jobs at home, thus economies go down, thus life style goes down. Stop wining and create a business or service.

by: V from: Chi Town

November 14, 2012 1:48 PM

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what else is new, banks get money from the gov't and gov't steals the money from the people

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