[Onthebarricades] Workers' protests, Europe, Apr-Aug 2008

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES:  Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/


*  FRANCE:  Protest wave over attempt to raise working hours

*  BULGARIA:  Steel mill workers protest over plant future

*  SCOTLAND:  Workers at homeless charity strike

*  UK:  Public sector workers strike, march over pay

*  IRELAND:  Telecom workers protest

*  GREECE:  Migrant farm workers protest over pay

*  GREECE:  Telecom workers strike over sale

*  GREECE:  Workers strike against privatisation

*  DENMARK:  Teachers protest over use of non-unionised labour

*  NORTHERN IRELAND:  Protest at local assembly over job cuts

*  POLAND:  Shipyard workers protest EU ruling in Brussels

*  CZECH REP:  Workers march against "reform" plans

*  GREECE:  Dockers protest shipyard safety after explosion, stone 
government building

*  MOLDOVA:  Teachers suspend protests because of floods

*  ALBANIA:  Protest over injuries in the workplace

http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0806181918092915.htm

Nationwide protests grip France over bid to boost work hours
Paris, June 18, IRNA

France-Nationwide Protests
Several thousand people marched from the Place de la Bastille. In the 
southern port city of Marseille, organizers said 60,000 people demonstrated.
About a third of cafeterias in Marseille's schools were closed, as were a 
third of the city's day care centers.
Nationwide, fewer than 3 percent of public school staff stayed off the job, 
the Education Ministry said.
Some trains were disrupted in southern France, as were a few Paris suburban 
train lines. The Paris subway operated as normal.
The demonstrations were called by the two biggest French unions, CGT and 
CFDT.
CFDT leader Francois Chereque complained that the government did not take 
union concerns into account.
On Wednesday, President Nicolas Sarkozy's Cabinet will discuss the latest 
attempt to encourage longer hours.
Under the new proposal, the statutory limit on working hours will be 
retained but companies will be able negotiate opt-outs with employees. The 
measure has yet to go before parliament.
French union activists marched in cities throughout France Tuesday to 
protest the conservative government's latest effort to encourage employees 
to work more than the standard 35-hour week.


http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=94215

Kremikovtzi Workers Stage New Protest
17 June 2008, Tuesday


Bulgaria: About 1000 workers from Bulgaria's biggest steel mill Kremikovtzi 
gathered Monday in front of the Ministry of Economy and Energy, calling the 
government to take urgent decisions regarding the fate of the plant.

The protesters read a declaration insisting that Kremikovtzi starts 
producing at full capacity and high standards of work conditions are 
established.

Currently Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Zhevago and his Vorskla Steel is 
competing with ArcelorMittal of the Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal for 
acquisition of 71 percent of the steel mill.

Bulgaria's Minister of Economy Petar Dimitrov had announced that both 
bidders insisted that the deal takes place after the plant is declared in a 
state of bankruptcy due to the great debts of Kremikovtzi.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=94979

Workers of Bulgaria Steel Mill Kremikovtzi to Launch Large-Scale Protests
10 July 2008, Thursday


Workers of Bulgaria Steel Mill Kremikovtzi to Launch Large-Scale Protests: 
Podkrepa Labor Confederation and the Confederation of Independent Syndicates 
in Bulgaria announced the workers of Kremikovtzi steel plant were going to 
start massive protest on Monday.

The main demand of the workers is that the government finalized the deal for 
the sale of the country's largest steel maker so that a new owner, who would 
resolve the issues of the factory, would finally take over.

According to the trade unionists, the Kremikovtzi employees were going to 
block the Sofia-Plovdiv highway on Monday unless the government stated its 
clear position on the future of the plant.

On Tuesday, the workers plan to block the Sofia-Varna road as well, and by 
the end of next week they intend to protest before the Parliament and the 
Council of Ministers, where they will set up a tent camp.

The union leaders called upon the state to take measure to stop the demands 
by the State Railway Company BDZ, and the National Electric Company NEK that 
the debts of the plant be repaid.

If it failed to do that, this would mean it was conducting a policy aiming 
to close down the factory, which would bring down its price.

The two syndicates also declared they renounced their gentleman's agreement 
with one of the bidders for the plant ArcelorMittal, because the company had 
not paid the promised EUR 10 M for the May salaries of the workers, which 
had been pledged in exchange for products of Kremikovtzi, and backed by some 
of its assets.

The unionist said ArcelorMittal wanted to see the plant declared insolvent, 
which meant it would be liquidated. They stated again their preference for 
the other main bidder - the Ukrainian tycoon Konstantin Zhevago.

http://www.workers.org/2008/us/teachers_0619/

Los Angeles: 40,000 teachers protest budget cuts
By Julia La Riva
UTLA Member
Los Angeles
Published Jun 14, 2008 8:19 AM
More than 40,000 teachers with the United Teachers Los Angeles sacrificed an 
hour of their pay to protest proposed state budget cuts on June 6. The 
hour-long protests were held in front of schools, as students entered campus 
and administrators were relegated to supervising children. From elementary 
through high school, students, parents, teachers and labor supporters wore 
placards and distributed flyers to other parents, students and commuters. 
Labor and community support was evident with cars honking, hands waving and 
volunteers and students remaining outside with their teachers.


United Teachers Los Angeles fight for the
right to an education.
Photo: James Casey
The last time UTLA had an action was in 1989, when teachers went on strike 
for two weeks. The June 6 action went beyond the union’s expectations, with 
75 percent of teachers not reporting for work and other support staff, who 
were not authorized to stay out, remaining outside in a show of solidarity.
The proposed budget cuts include no cost-of-living increase for teachers and 
cuts to many programs throughout the schools. According to the Los Angeles 
Unified School District, these state budget cuts will mean a 
$353-million-dollar shortfall. Because of the budget cuts, LAUSD has said 
that 6,500 probationary teachers will be laid off, an action UTLA has vowed 
to fight.
While LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer was unsuccessful in his attempt to 
get a restraining order against the protest, a smear telephone campaign was 
implemented in an attempt to discredit the union’s action. According to UTLA 
President A. J. Duffy, “If he [Brewer] was standing next to me ... then no 
Legislature, no governor would try to take the kind of cuts out of education 
that they’re talking about.” (Los Angeles Times, June 7).
Scare tactics were also used, claiming students’ safety was at risk. 
However, no incidents or injuries were reported during the stay-out. 
Instead, many older students remained outside independently or with parents 
to protest, and younger children were cooperative and concerned inside the 
campuses. Many students complained later that they were bored and missed 
their teachers. The large turnout and positive reports demonstrate that the 
action, and future actions if necessary, will be well supported and well 
attended.
While schools throughout the Los Angeles area and the country are in dire 
need of funds to improve student achievement and secure jobs, the continued 
attack on public education is just an indication that public education is 
not a priority to any administration—from Sacramento, Calif., to Washington, 
D.C.
To slash education from the most vulnerable of individuals—children—is 
shameful and does indeed leave every child left behind. UTLA is a united 
front that will stand at the vanguard and protect public education, the 
rights of teachers and other labor as they fight for a decent wage and job 
security.
Articles copyright 1995-2008 Workers World. Verbatim copying and 
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without 
royalty provided this notice is preserved.

http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Shelter-staff-start-strike-in.4017364.jp

Shelter staff start strike in pay shake-up protest
STAFF at the homeless charity Shelter today began a three-day strike in 
protest over pay conditions.
Workers picketed outside Shelter's Scottish head office on South Charlotte 
Street this morning and were set to hold a demonstration at the Scottish 
Parliament.

Staff went on strike last month over management plans to scrap their pay and 
grading structure.

The current industrial action is set to be continued tomorrow and on Monday.

Shelter's chief executive Adam Sampson said: "We made it clear to managers 
and staff that our offer at ACAS was full and final. This has not changed.

"We hope the union will reconsider its position and we can move our working 
relationship forwards.

"In Scotland, some of our services have been affected by the strike, but we 
are doing our best to limit the effect of this industrial action on those 
people who may need housing advice today."

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1401737.php/Massive_turnout_at_public-sector_pay_protests_in_Britain__Roundup_

Massive turnout at public-sector pay protests in Britain (Roundup)
Apr 24, 2008, 16:47 GMT
London - The first national strike called by teachers in Britain since the 
1980s snowballed into a serious challenge for the government Thursday as 
employees from other public sectors turned out to back their demand for 
above-inflation pay rises.
Estimates said that up to 400,000 teachers, lecturers, coastguards and civil 
servants working in government departments joined rallies and marches across 
Britain to protest against government-imposed restraint on public-sector 
pay.
Trade union officials estimated that the turnout was the highest seen in 
Britain over the last 10 years.
The main teaching union, the NUT, accused the government of Gordon Brown of 
having 'underestimated the strength of feeling' over three years of 
below-inflation pay rises.
The sentiments were echoed by other unions, including the Public and 
Commercial Services' Union (PCS), which said that 100,000 civil servants had 
caused 'widespread disruption' across government departments Thursday.
'The breadth and depth of the support for today's action has been 
fantastic,' PCS leader Mark Serwotka said.
Meanwhile, the leader of Britain's Trade Unions' Congress (TUC), Brendan 
Barber, told a rally in London that giving public-sector workers 
below-inflation pay rises was 'no longer good enough' for a Labour 
government.
'We need a fundamental change of direction. If the government continues to 
use the public sector like as political football, I am convinced they will 
pay a devastating price at the general election,' Barber said.
As up to 8,000 schools in England and Wales remained shut, or partly closed, 
by the teachers' action Thursday, Prime Minister Brown said the strikes were 
'regrettable and unjustified.'
Schools Secretary Ed Balls, who made a point of visiting a functioning 
primary school in Kent, southern Britain, said he was 'annoyed and 
disappointed' by the teachers' strike.
But he insisted that 'only a minority of schools' were affected by closures 
and disruptions.
NUT estimates said more than 2.5 million pupils would have stayed at home.
'There isn't a justification for the strike. Over the last 10 years 
teachers' pay has risen substantially,' Balls said.
However, judging by the angry mood among the mostly young participants in 
rallies in London, Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool, and many other cities, it 
looked as if the government could have a serious problem on its hands.
Leaders of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) warned that they were ready 
for a 'long-term campaign' to achieve recognition for their work.
Christine Blower, the acting general secretary of the NUT, said in a BBC 
interview Thursday that it was 'not in her gift' to rule out further 
protests.
'The government has underestimated the strength of feeling of teachers. For 
three years we have had below-inflation pay deals and have been offered the 
same for the next three,' said Elaine Kay, regional NUT secretary in 
Newcastle, northern England.
'It's time to say, 'enough is enough,'' NUT representative David Room said.
The Labour government, which has made education-spending one of its main 
priorities, has offered teachers a 2.45-per-cent pay rise, against demands 
of an increase of 4.1 per cent.
Teachers, who earn between 20,000 and 34,000 pounds (40,000 to 68,000 
dollars) a year, say that inflation, as well as rising costs for 
accommodation, food and transport, make it impossible for them to manage on 
their wage.
Lucy Beckford, a 25-year-old primary school teacher, told reporters she 
'loved her job' but could not live on the salary she earned.
'After I pay my mortgage and the bills, I just have a couple of hundred 
pounds a month to pay for petrol and food. I believe everybody has the right 
to equal opportunities and the right to a decent, free education,' she said.
'We are professionals and we should be treated as such,' said Dawn 
Whittaker, a teacher with 35 years' experience.
She said the job had become increasingly demanding, with paperwork and 
'stress' adding to teachers' frustrations.

http://www.worldpress.org/feed.cfm?http://www.breakingnews.ie/Business/?jp=mhojidqleyey&rss=rss2

BT Ireland workers to stage protest at company headquarters

22/04/2008 - 11:38:17
Workers at BT Ireland are to stage a protest, organised by the 
Communications Workers Union, in Dublin today to highlight what they say is 
discrimination against the company's workforce.

Staff claim management are refusing to treat employees in Ireland and the 
North equally, despite operating its business on a 32-county basis.

Workers say BT has resisted all attempts by staff operating in Ireland to be 
represented by their union of choice, the Communications Workers Union.

They are planning to stage a demonstration outside the company's corporate 
headquarters in Dublin at lunchtime today.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100020_21/04/2008_95767

Workers arrested
Foreign farm hands protest over pay
Farm workers clashed with police in Manaloda, outside Patras, yesterday 
while protesting against work conditions. Ten workers were arrested, all 
foreign nationals. Earlier this month, state labor inspectors raided several 
farms in the area in response to media reports that hundreds of migrants are 
being employed as modern-day slaves. Some 2,500 migrants are employed as 
strawberry pickers and are believed to be working for a pittance.
http://b92.net/eng/news/society-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=05&dd=05&nav_id=49977

Serb justice workers resume protest 5 May 2008 | 12:57 | Source: Tanjug 
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Serb justice workers have resumed their protest in 
front of the courthouse in northern Kosovska Mitrovica demanding talks on 
their reinstatement.

The aftermath of the March 17 riots (FoNet, archive)

District Court Judge in Vučitrn Nikola Kabašić said that the employees would 
continue their protests every day until their demands were met.

“The fact is, we want negotiations to start,” he said, adding that there had 
been no contact whatsoever with UNMIK justice representatives during the 
holidays.

Kabašić said that on Friday, representatives of the justice institutions had 
spoken to UN investigators and put their side of the events of March 17, 
when one Ukrainian policeman and some 150 members of the international 
forces and civilians were injured during rioting sparked by the UN police’s 
dawn raid on the courthouse.

The justice workers began their protests on February 21, and broke into the 
court’s premises on March 14, before being forcibly evicted three days later 
during the intervention by UNMIK police and KFOR.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/06/business/EU-FIN-COM-Greece-OTE-Deutsche-Telekom.php

Greek telecoms workers strike to protest plans to sell stake in OTE to 
Deutsche Telekom

The Associated Press
Published: May 6, 2008

ATHENS, Greece: Workers at Greece's biggest phone company, OTE, began a 
two-day strike Tuesday to protest plans to sell a stake in the former 
telecom monopoly to Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG.
About 1,500 striking workers later marched through central Athens, chanting 
slogans and burning flags — although they mistakenly burned two Belgian, 
rather than German, flags.
Last week, the government said talks with Deutsche Telekom over the future 
ownership and management of Hellenic Telecom had made progress.
The government is OTE's largest shareholder with a stake of just over 28 
percent, and effectively appoints the company's chairman and chief 
executive.
In March, the German company announced plans to acquire a 20 percent stake 
in OTE for about €2.5 billion (US$3.9 billion) from Marfin Investment Group 
Holdings SA. But the deal is contingent on a follow-on agreement with 
Greece's government.
Greek labor unions and opposition parties strongly oppose the deal, arguing 
that Greece's conservative government should not allow foreign control of 
OTE.
"The government and the Germans are deluded if they think that the deal will 
have prospects when workers and Greek society are totally against it," the 
OTE workers' union said in an announcement. The union claimed the deal would 
turn OTE's management into a German state company.
"Our struggle continues and will continue until we find justice," the union 
said.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/gree-m17.shtml

Major Greek unions strike to protest privatization
By Tim Tower
17 May 2008
Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author
The two largest unions in Greece organized strikes on Thursday, May 15, of 
workers in telecommunications, banking and transportation. The national 
actions were called to protest government plans to effectively privatize 
OTE, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, along with large portions 
of shipping operations at two major ports. GSEE, the country’s largest labor 
union, called 24-hour strikes at OTE and at shipping operations in Piraeus 
and Thessaloniki.
In the center of downtown Athens, workers staged a march from the Omonia 
Plaza Metro station to Sindagma Square opposite the national parliament 
building in the city center.

Police fired tear gas to prevent strikers from entering the headquarters of 
the National Bank of Greece. There were no reported injuries or arrests.
On the same day, 2,000 students staged a separate demonstration and launched 
sit-ins at 10 universities.
Olympic Airlines, the government carrier, was compelled to cancel 40 flights 
to and from Athens, and to reschedule an additional 16 international and 
domestic flights because of work stoppages by pilots and air traffic 
controllers. Aegean Airlines cancelled an additional 28 flights.
Deutsche Telekom (DT) has purchased 25 percent of OTE in a deal that gives 
the German concern managing control of the Greek phone service and threatens 
complete privatization. Protests from opposition parties in parliament, 
coupled with actions by the unions, escalated on May 14 when Finance 
Minister George Alogoskoufis announced that DT would purchase a 19.56 
percent share of the company from the private investment firm Martin 
Investment Group. The government facilitated the deal by selling DT an 
additional 3 percent for €29.75 per share.
The transaction reduces government holdings from 28 percent to 25 percent. 
By purchasing an additional 2 percent of the company on the open market DT 
will obtain a parity stake immediately, with the government and the company 
each holding 25 percent. In response to the news, OTE stock fell 8 percent 
the next day to close at €18.82 per share on fears that the move would 
provoke the unions.
The conservative New Democracy government is simultaneously moving to sell 
the rights to manage container terminals at the ports of Piraeus and 
Thessaloniki. Giant firms Cosco and Hutchinson from China and Dubai World 
Ports from the United Arab Emirates are competing for the contract, which 
would secure control of the container operations at the two ports for 30 
years.
Banners on Thursday’s march called for the restoration of the 
telecommunications industry to 100 percent public ownership. Perrakis 
Alexandros, president of the Telecommunications Workers Union for the Athens 
area, told the WSWS, “We are on strike because we are opposing 
privatization.” The privatization would hurt the general public because the 
cost of communications services would increase and the quality of service 
would decline. “It is not only a problem in Greece, or the European Union,” 
he said, “that workers’ wages and rights are being cut down. It is the same 
problem all over the world. This is due to the system that we live in, 
capitalism. To make more profit, the capitalists cut wages and workers’ 
rights.”
Yannis and Angelos, who held one of the banners, said the actions were 
organized against the threat to jobs and working conditions posed by 
privatization. “The only way, finally, to secure jobs and working 
conditions,” Yannis said, “is that the public has to defeat capitalism.” 
Turning to world politics, he said, “Iraq is an imperialist war, only for 
oil and to open markets in Asia to American industries. Everyone sees that.”
The strikers have been following the US election campaign and commented that 
Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama did not represent an 
alternative to the policies of the Bush administration. “The only chance for 
real change is to build a separate party of the working class,” said Yannis. 
“I would tell the workers in America that the problem is not just with Bush. 
After him, Clinton or Obama will be the same. It is the system of capitalism 
which must be changed.”
The Athens News reported that a vote against the Telekom deal in parliament 
could bring down the government and precipitate a general election. The 
paper also reported that although Alogoskoufis denied reports that the 
government was moving to liquidate all of its holdings in OTE, many 
observers believed that to be the case.
The state will receive €442.3 million and Martin Investment Group will get 
€2.55 billion. As soon as the transaction goes into effect, the structure of 
the company board of directors will shift to give five of its ten members to 
DT and five to the Greek state.
Despite holding a mere one seat majority in parliament, the government is 
pushing ahead with plans for aggressive privatizations and massive cuts in 
government pension plans.
In response, the unions have staged a number of protests. ADEDY, the civil 
servants’ union, called a three-hour strike on May 14 at the state-run 
electric utility, PPC, and other public utilities to oppose plans for 
privatization and cuts in pensions and to demand a salary increase from €658 
to €1,300.

http://www.cphpost.dk/get/107284.html

First lady caught up in teacher strike
22.05.2008Print article

Striking daycare teachers in the town of Rudersdal have begun protesting 
outside schools that use non-unionised labour, including one where the wife 
of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen works.
Anne-Mette Rasmussen is educated as a daycare teacher, but is not a member 
of the BUPL union, whose members walked off the job on Monday seeking higher 
pay raise than the one negotiated with the national association of local 
councils earlier this year.
Union members gathered at the Børnehuset school in Holte, where Rasmussen 
works, said they hoped their protest would draw parents attention to the 
fact that their children were being cared for by unorganised labour.
'These people aren't a part of our struggle,' Lars Christiansen, BUPL's 
regional chairman. (KM)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0609/breaking5.htm

Monday, June 9, 2008, 08:08
Ictu protests at Stormont over job cuts
Trade Union members are to stage a protest today at Stormont as part of a 
campaign to block public sector job cuts.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) has called on all trade unions to 
join in the protest.
The “Speak Up For Public Services” campaign claims 6,000 jobs will be lost 
if cuts are enforced, but the government insists it is pushing for greater 
efficiency.
Ictu said a series of measures, including aspects of the Northern Ireland 
Executive’s Programme for Government and the changes scheduled under the 
Review of Public Administration, will result in job losses.
Northern Ireland’s largest public sector union, Nipsa, will take part in the 
Stormont protest.
General Secretary John Corey said: “We are going to the Assembly today to 
highlight to Assembly members, and the public, the very serious threats to 
our future public services in Northern Ireland.
“We have already identified up to 6,000 job cuts over the next three years. 
It would be impossible to deliver quality public services with that level of 
job loss."

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/06/25/polish_shipyard_workers_protest_closure_threats/

Polish shipyard workers protest closure threats
June 25, 2008
BRUSSELS, Belgium—Polish trade union workers demonstrated outside EU 
headquarters Wednesday demanding officials move away from threats to force 
the closure of three ailing shipyards, including the birthplace of the 
Solidarity labor movement.
Around 100 people took part in a noisy protest to try to sway the European 
Commission not to rule against Polish subsidies given to the shipyards in 
Gdynia, Szczecin and Gdansk in recent years.
The docks have played a significant role in Poland, especially Gdansk, where 
members of Solidarity began the nation's peaceful anti-communist revolt in 
the 1980s.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has given the Polish government 
until Thursday to present a credible restructuring plan that will limit 
distortion to competition and ensure the long-term viability of the 
shipyards.
The EU executive began investigating the subsidies in June 2005. If Warsaw 
ignores the request for credible plan, the EU can order the Polish 
government to claim back from the yards all the subsidies they have 
received -- an order bound to run into hundreds of millions of euros.
Kroes' office said she met with representatives of unions to stress that any 
plan must not violate state aid rules.
Last summer, Polish dockworkers protested outside EU headquarters in 
Brussels against closing two of the Gdansk yard's three slipways, saying 
that would put more than 1,000 workers -- a third of the work force -- out 
of jobs. A decision on closing those slipways is part of a plan to make the 
Gdansk shipyard viable.
Restructuring the yards, EU officials said, means putting them under new, 
private ownership and reducing capacity by selling off assets that are not 
essential.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/25/europe/EU-GEN-EU-Poland-Shipyards.php

Polish shipyard workers protest outside EU headquarters

The Associated Press
Published: June 25, 2008
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Polish trade union workers demonstrated outside EU 
headquarters Wednesday demanding officials move away from threats to force 
the closure of three ailing shipyards.
Around 100 people took part in a noisy protest to try to sway the European 
Commission not to rule against Polish subsidies given to the shipyards in 
Gdynia, Szczecin and Gdansk in recent years.
The docks have played a significant role in Poland, especially Gdansk, the 
birthplace of the Solidarity labor union movement, which launched the 
nation's peaceful anti-communist revolt in the 1980s.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has given the Polish government 
until Thursday to present a credible restructuring plan that will limit 
distortion to competition and ensure the long-term viability of the 
shipyards.
The EU executive began investigating the subsidies in June 2005, but must 
yet see a plan to guarantee the yards' viability and end subsidies that harm 
rivals.
Her office said Kroes met with representatives of unions to stress that any 
plan must not violate state aid rules.
If Warsaw ignores the request, the EU can order it to claim back from the 
yards all the subsidies they have received — an order bound to run into 
hundreds of millions of euros.
Kroes made clear that unless Polish restructuring plans comply in full with 
EU demands "she would have no option but to propose ... negative decisions 
concerning the aid granted to the yards and to require the repayment of the 
state aid received."
Last summer, Polish dockworkers protested outside EU headquarters in 
Brussels against closing two of the Gdansk yard's three slipways, saying 
that would put more than 1,000 workers — a third of the work force — out of 
jobs.
Restructuring the yards, EU officials said, means putting them under new, 
private ownership and reducing capacity by selling off assets that are not 
essential.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0711/poland.html

Gdynia workers protest at EU ruling
Friday, 11 July 2008 11:44
More than 2,000 workers from Poland's Gdynia shipyard have protested against 
an EU ruling on subsidies for the industry.
The workers fear that the ruling on state aid could bankrupt the Polish 
shipbuilding industry.
Rallying in front of the headquarters of the yard under banners of the 
historic Solidarity trade union, the protesters demanded that Poland's 
President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk 'take strong 
measures to save Poland's shipyard industry, including the Gdynia yard, to 
save thousands of jobs.'
Advertisement
The European Commission said on Friday it would study 'very quickly' an 
update on Polish plans to save the country's shipbuilding industry.
The Commission said Warsaw had provided new information concerning the 
restructuring of three shipyards hours before a midnight Thursday deadline.
On Wednesday the Commission had given Warsaw 24 hours to produce 
restructuring plans for Gdynia and two other Baltic yards in Gdansk and 
Szczecin.
The Commission warned that Warsaw could be ordered as soon as 16 July to 
recover state aid the yards have received but which did not conform with EU 
competition regulations.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/24/europe/EU-GEN-Czech-Strike.php

Czech trade unions protest government economic reform plans

The Associated Press
Published: June 24, 2008

PRAGUE, Czech Republic: Hundreds of thousands of people left their jobs for 
a few hours in the Czech Republic on Tuesday to protest government economic 
reform plans.
The protest was called by trade unions, and it mostly involved blue-collar 
workers, but doctors also participated at some hospitals.
The government aims to enact tax and pension reforms as well as reforms in a 
health system burdened by a growing debt. The reforms are strongly opposed 
by the left-wing opposition led by Social Democrats who claim that only the 
rich would benefit.
Doctors and medical workers started the protest early Tuesday, with 
teachers, miners and drivers of buses, streetcars and trains joining it 
later in the day.
Most of the participants just left their jobs for a few hours in what they 
called a "symbolic warning strike."
The unions claimed that up to 1 million people took part. Since the strike 
resulted in few street demonstrations, police and the government did not 
estimate the number of protesters in this country of about 10 million 
people.
The job action differed in various parts of the country, with some trade 
unions split over the issue, but organizers claimed this was the biggest 
labor unrest in the country since the 1990's.
Hundreds of trains were delayed or canceled across the Czech Republic, and 
buses and streetcars came to a halt for at least one hour in the afternoon.
Government officials denounced the protest as politically motivated, 
accusing left-wing parties of trying to influence the country's regional 
elections this fall.

http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=315156171

Dockworkers protest as death toll from Greek shipyard explosion rises to 8
Released : Friday, July 25, 2008 9:07 AM
ATHENS, Greece-Hundreds of angry dockworkers marched in protest Friday over 
an explosion and fire at dockyard near Athens in which eight people were 
reported killed. Some threw rocks at a government ministry.
Thursday's explosion during repair work on the Panamanian-flagged Friendship 
Gas tanker killed eight, the Merchant Marine Ministry said.
Greek labor unions and opposition parties accused the government of ignoring 
repeated warnings of poor safety standards at Perama dockyards 12 miles (20 
kilometers) west of Athens.
The ministry said rescue workers at Perama had found the last three bodies 
on Friday and were trying to remove them from the wreckage. No more workers 
are missing, it said, adding that one of the dead was from the Philippines.
Two of the four people injured remained hospitalized for treatment of smoke 
inhalation, authorities said.
Hundreds of dockworkers marched to ministry at Piraeus to protest the deaths 
and safety conditions.
Riot police fired tear gas to disperse groups of workers throwing rocks and 
ripping down a metal fence outside the ministry. Several ministry vehicles 
were damaged by the protesters, police said.
The dockworkers called a three-day strike to protest one of the worst 
accidents to have hit their industry in Greece in recent years.
Two members of the repair crew have been arrested on suspicion of not 
maintaining safety standards, the ministry said.
In July, after two people were killed while repairing a ship at Perama, 
workers held a 24-hour strike.
"This tragic accident, once again confirms the lack of proper measures to 
safeguard (dockyard) workers," the main opposition Socialist Party said 
Friday.
The government said it increased safety measures since 2006, when it 
introduced daily inspections at Perama.

http://social.moldova.org/stiri/eng/139877/

Teachers postpone protests because of floods
The National Council of Education and Science Trade Unions put off the 
protest scheduled for August 4 in connection with the floods that affected 
the country. The teachers intend to protest against the low salaries and 
demand that they are increased.

The Council’s president Ion Bulat told a news conference on August 5 that 
the Council will not stop negotiating with the Government for higher 
salaries because the latest rises in the heating, electric power and gas 
charges will bring the people working in education into incapacity to earn 
their living.

Bulat said that he carried out talks with the Government, which has not yet 
proposed solutions for remedying the situation. He also said that the 
minimum salary in all the areas should make up 50-60% of the average salary 
per economy, which is about 2,600 lei. The salary of the fist category in 
Moldova is only 400 lei, when it should be 1,200-1,300 lei a month.

The Council’s Executive Bureau will return to the issue of protests after 
September 10 if the tariff salary for the first category is not raised to 
600 lei by September 1.

The trade union representatives also said that the protests will be 
continued if the monthly salary of the first category is not increased to 
900 lei from January 1, 2009 and to 1.200 lei from July 1, 2009.

On August 6, representatives of the National Council of Education and 
Science Trade Unions will have a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Victor 
Stepaniuc to discuss salary-related issues.

According to statistics, the average salary in education in May this year as 
about 1,874 lei, three times lower than in the financial sector and 1.4 
times lower than the average salary in the economy.//REPORTER.MD

Publication date: 05 August 2008

http://see.oneworldsee.org/article/view/150896/1/3184

Protests in Memory of Workers Who Suferred Injuries in the Work Place
Luan Ibraj

05 May 2008
The Confederation of Albanian Trade Unions, the Mjaft! Movement and other 
labor union groups held protests last Thusrday, May 1, in the Skanderbeg 
Square in Tirana, demanding better working conditions. May 1 is the day 
where the workers openly speak and present their complaints and demands 
regarding the working conditions.
`In 2007, over 300 work-related accidents were registered in Albania, with 
44 casualties and hundreds of injuries. Such figures lead us to believe that 
workers` safety is always at risk due to lack of safety measures` say the 
organizers.

The protesters paid respect to their colleagues that fell victims to inhuman 
working conditions with a moment of silence and declared May 1 the day of 
mourning for the workers.

`We are gathered here to commemorate the ones who could not be with us 
today - the miners, metal workers, miners. We are here today to demand from 
the Albanian State to respect the law and not become accomplice to the 
murders of the citizens with their irresponsibility`, said the organizers in 
a joint declaration.

The protesters headed to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy where 
they accused Minister Genc Ruli for the death of workers in 2007.

`We demand from the Prime Minister and other officials not to come and visit 
us on this day of mourning, or on other sad occasions when they fail to 
protect the lives of the citizens. We demand from the elected officials to 
draft legislation so that the citizens` are not staggered by the bombs and 
employees not to face with every day Gërdec`s”, said the organizers in front 
of the Ministry.

(Note: Gerdec is a village near Tirana in which recent explosion at an 
ammunitions depot killed 26 and injured 300 people.)