Hundreds of thousands of people protested yesterday in cities across Portugal against government austerity measures which have driven unemployment up to more than 20%."This government has left the people on bread and water, selling off state assets for peanuts to pay back debts that were contracted by corrupt politicians to benefit bankers," film director Fabio Carvalho, who was among the protesters in Lisbon, was quoted as saying by Reuters. "If not today, things have to change tomorrow and we need to remain in the streets for the government to fall."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21643853
Union-led national demonstrations took place yesterday in Madrid and Lisbon as hundreds of thousands of workers protested against austerity measures including pay cuts and increased taxes. "We want to say loud and clear to the government that we do not agree, that its policies cause too much damage, that we will not resign ourselves because there are alternatives," said Ignacio Toxo, leader of Spain’s CCOO union federation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19611375
The ETUC has slammed the harm that the forced EU-ECB-IMF 'Troika' austerity programme is causing to Portugese workers and citizens and that has "impoverished millions of citizens in Europe and stifled all opportunities for recovery."
Portuguese workers led by the CGTP union federation are staging a 24 hour general strike against austerity today. The BBC reports on the severe impact on working people of the economic crisis and last year’s €78bn EU bail out – massive unemployment, cuts in public spending and huge tax increases:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17471098
Early reports from Portugal confirm massive support for today’s general strike against government austerity measures. The CGTP union centre is publishing running news about the strike on a special ‘greve geral’ website:
http://www.grevegeral.net/ Public sector wages are set to be slashed by 5 per cent next year, while pensions will be frozen and value-added tax raised in order to reduce the country's deficit from 9.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009 to below the arbitrary EU limit of 3 per cent by 2013, according to a report in today’s Morning Star:
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/content/view/full/98015
Reports today of a worsening economic situation in Portugal gives added urgency to the plans of the Portuguese unions for the upcoming general strike on 24 November – called in protest at austerity measures including wage cuts.
http://tinyurl.com/392pgj3
In Portugal public sector wages are being cut and state pensions frozen as yet another ‘Socialist’ led Government capitulates to EU demands to implement ruthless austerity measures –– Prime Minister Jose Socrates cravenly told the FT yesterday ‘we were being penalised by financial markets for the gradual pace of our deficit-reduction programme. We had to put an end to the uncertainty for once and for all”:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9c3a3ba6-cd57-11df-ab20-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss
Yesterday, Portuguese public sector unions staged a 24 hour strike against a pay freeze and other austerity measures imposed by the ‘Socialist’ led Government. All public services including hospitals, schools and transport were severely disrupted as over 400 000 workers took part in the stoppage.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/87571
