INTERNATIONAL NEWS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2010 :: RMTnews 20 Over two million workers took part in a solid general strike in Greece last month against austerity measures demanded by the European Union, bringing the country to a complete standstill. Airports, schools, council office and ministries all lay empty as the action which spanned both the public and private sectors was hailed a complete success by union leaders. Early morning picket lines were enforced across the country with workers blockading their bosses offices. Major cities saw huge marches as workers vented their anger at the economic crisis. Workers face wage cuts and losing jobs and pensions Greece is the first eurozone member that is set to experience the full wrath of forced EU austerity measures following the recent recession. The country has been stripped of voting powers in the EU and Brussels is demanding that the country reduce its 12.8 per cent deficit to three per cent in the next three years. The EU council has demanded that Greece must comply with austerity demands by March 16 or have all powers to determine spending and taxing removed altogether. Under article 126.9 of the Lisbon treaty the EU council can impose its own cuts on any member state which amounts to a complete surrender of sovereignty. Ireland, Spain and Portugal all find themselves in a similar predicament. The imposition of Thatcherite EU policies, which are backed by richer member states such as Germany and the IMF, are designed to restore stability to the Euro. The effects on Greek workers would be immediate and painful. Pensions would be devalued while the pension age would be raised. Cuts to public services would see a fall in standards for everything from education to public transport and healthcare. Meanwhile in an almost perverse appeasement to the super rich, controls designed to tackle tax evasion would be diminished. The mood on the streets of Athens was understandably furious. Many were chanting the slogan: "No sacrifices, make the rich pay for the crisis!”. Another general strike is planned for later this month while individual sectors are planning their own actions. BELGIAN RAIL UNIONS SLAM EU DEREGULATION Belgian rail unions have slammed the European Union’s deregulation policies as a cause of the country’s worst rail disaster near Brussels last month and many rail workers waged a spontaneous 24-hour strike for better working conditions. The rush-hour head-on collision between two commuter trains on February 16 at the suburb of Hal/Buizingen, south west of Brussels was the deadliest for decades, causing at least 19 deaths and 162 injuries, many of them critical. Rail workers stopped work the following day, halting national traffic and halting international Eurostar and Thalys services. “Strikers demanded tighter safety rules and alerted the authorities and the public to attacks on their working conditions since the European Commission deregulated European rail traffic in 2005,” said Gerard Gelmini of the FGTB rail Union. That year, in line with EU rail directives, the Belgian government split the SNCB, Belgium’s national rail network, into three separate subsidiaries after 170 years existence operating as a single company. Gerard Gelmini slammed the “mad rise in productivity” that endangers rail workers and the travelling public. “You can have as much safety and security as you want but it doesn’t mean anything if there is insufficient investment in training and unless there are decent working conditions,” he said. In 2004, the SNCB was told to upgrade its automatic signalling system over the entire network but six years later only one quarter of trains are equipped with the system. An SNCB spokesman blamed budgetary cuts and EU regulations for lateness in fully establishing the safety rules. BERLIN OPENS METRO LINES TO COMPETITION The German government is to follow European Union rules Berlin's metro to competition instead of investing in an overhaul of the capital’s collapsing S-Bahn system. Over the last six months services have deteriorated with The wreckage of two commuter trains is seen in Buizingen, Belgium last month. Two commuter trains collided head-on at rush hour in a Brussels suburb, killing 20 people. Union blame EU rail liberalisation diktats. GREECE STRIKES AGAINST EU AUSTERITY MEASURES