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October 17 saw a general strike against the attacks being waged on working people by the government of Silvio Berlusconi.
The central points of concern are low wages and temporary contracts across various sectors as well as education reforms that threaten 87,000 teaching jobs and cuts in the health system.
Protest marches composed of workers in transport, education, the health and emergency services among others, paralysed traffic in Rome, Milan and Turin last week, with one union official describing the strike as "a success beyond our wildest dreams." In Rome, unions claimed up to 300,000 demonstrated in the main rally at Piazza San Giovanni. Also in the capital, police in riot gear guarded the entrance to the education ministry to prevent access by protesting university and high-school students.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oc...ital-o24.shtml
Brussels - A nationwide strike of unions protesting the rising cost of living brought chaos to Belgium on Monday as trains, ports and public services shut down.
In Brussels, tram lines were closed, bus lines were running only limited services, main-line railway stations shut down and traffic jams were widespread.
International train services were hard hit by the closure of two of Brussels' three main stations, with both the Thalys service to Paris and the cross-Channel Eurostar train - already on a reduced service after a fire last month - closed for the day.
In the province of Flanders, local services reported over 280 kilometres of traffic jams on Monday morning, an increase of 40 per cent over a normal working day. Workers also blocked the port of Antwerp, the country's main trading port.
In Wallonia, striking workers picketed industrial areas round the towns of Charleroi, while many shops and services remained closed.
The unions are protesting at the rising cost of living. However, the current financial crisis and the collapse of Belgium's biggest bank, Fortis, have largely wiped the strike off Monday's front pages, leaving it open to question how much impact it will have.
The strike is set to last until 10 pm local time (2000 GMT).
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/ne...aos_to_Belgium
Air traffic, urban transport and public services have ground to a halt in Greece, where hundreds of thousands of people have walked out on strike.
Thousands marched through Athens in protest at privatisation, caps on pay and reforms to the pension system.
A small group of protesters threw stones and clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas.
But there were no reports of injuries and for the most part rallies in the capital passed off peacefully.
Country 'at a halt'
Public offices across the country were forced to close, with hundreds of thousands of people thought to have joined the nationwide strike, called by two unions representing some 2.5 million people.
Nearly 200 domestic and international flights and many train services were cancelled, and ferries were forced to remain in port.
State hospitals ran on skeleton staffs, while schools, universities and post offices kept their doors closed.
Bank staff, lawyers, journalists and civil engineers also joined the strike.
"The country has effectively come to a halt," said union spokesman Efstathios Anestis.
"Participation is very high, in many sectors it exceeds 90% of the work force."
There was no confirmation of that estimate from the government, and with journalists also on strike, reliable news was sparse.
Two marches wound their way through Athens, displaying opposition to the 2009 draft budget, due to go before parliament this week.
Many of the protesters called for increased government support - demanding the minimum wage be doubled.
They decried a 28bn-euro (£22bn) government rescue package to banks hit by the international credit crisis - one banner read: "Not one euro to support the capitalists."
The unions are also opposing the government's plans to privatise the loss-making Olympic Airlines.
The conservative government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis wants to press ahead with its privatisation plans and the overhaul of the country's debt-ridden pension system.
The plans include eliminating most early retirement schemes, merging pension funds and capping auxiliary pensions.
Mr Karamanlis has promised to shield consumers from price rises and compensate workers from privatised firms.
However, the plans have provoked a series of nationwide strikes and demonstrations.
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Strike-hit Greece at standstill
On Thursday, October 23, half a million Colombian workers took part in the one day general strike called by the CUT trade union confederation. The strike was particularly strong among state employees and teachers, but affected all sections of the economy. Massive demonstrations took place in more than 40 cities around the country with 50,000 gathering in the capital Bogotá
http://www.marxist.com/colobmian-wor...ral-strike.htm
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