Nov 30 (Reuters) - Here are details of some of the major
recent and forthcoming protests in European countries as Italian
students opposed to spending cuts marched in Rome on Tuesday.
ITALY:
Oct. 16 - Thousands of Italians marched in Rome in a rally
organised by the FIOM metalworkers union and backed by the CGIL,
Italy's biggest union with 6 million members, to protest the
bleak outlook for jobs and demand more rights for workers.
Nov. 30 - Thousands of students streamed through Rome
towards parliament, chanting and waving banners with slogans
such as 'education is on its knees'. Students, who on Nov. 25
occupied key tourist sites including the leaning tower of Pisa
and the Colosseum, vowed to block proposed changes by Education
Minister Mariastella Gelmini.
BRITAIN:
Oct 3 - A 24-hour strike by workers on London's underground
rail system disrupted much of the network. The strike forced
millions of commuters to struggle to work in their third walkout
since September in a dispute over 800 planned job cuts. Another
24-hour strike took place on Nov. 28.
Oct. 19 - Britain's trade unions took protests over spending
cuts to parliament, promising to fight to protect public
services.
Nov. 10 - About 55,000 students took part in a demonstration
in London against the government plans to triple university
tuition fees up to 9,000 pounds ($14,000). A small group took
part in protests at Millbank Tower, home to the Conservative
Party headquarters, which saw windows smashed and missiles
hurled at police. Around 66 people were arrested.
Nov. 24 - Thousands of students staged walkouts and marches
across Britain against planned rises in tuition fees.
Nov. 30 - Thousands of students engaged in a game of cat
and mouse with police through central London during a chaotic
tuition fees protest.
IRELAND:
Nov. 27 - Thousands of Irish took to the streets of Dublin
to protest against the looming bailout. The EU approved an 85
billion euro ($115 billion) rescue for Ireland, a day later.
PORTUGAL:
Nov. 24 - Portugal's biggest unions, the CGTP and the UGT,
disrupted transport and halted services from healthcare to
banking in protest against wage cuts and rising unemployment in
the first joint general strike by the top two unions since 1988.
GREECE:
May 4-5 - Public-sector workers staged a 48-hour nationwide
strike. On May 5, a 50,000-strong protest in Athens led to
violence in which demonstrators fought police and three people
were killed in a petrol bomb attack on a bank.
June 29 - Police fired tear gas at rioters shouting "burn
parliament" in Athens. About 12,000 people joined marches during
a strike against raising the retirement age to 65 for all.
July 8 - About 12,000 people marched against pension reform
in the unions' sixth 24-hour strike against austerity measures.
Nov. 10 - ADEDY, the public sector union, said it would also
join private sector workers in a 24-hour general strike planned
for Dec. 15, to protest against job cuts and austerity measures.
Nov. 22 - Greek private sector union GSEE called for a
pan-European strike in 2011 to take joint action against
austerity measures.
SPAIN:
Sept 29 - Spain's first general strike in eight years,
called to oppose spending cuts, disrupted transport and
factories but the impact was limited as most Spaniards appear to
resigned to austerity to trim a massive deficit.
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Nov. 8 - The main Czech labour union called a one-day strike
of public sector workers for Dec. 8 to protest the government's
planned wage cuts and layoffs. Such strikes are rare in the
central European country, whose centre-right government has
pledged to balance its budget by 2016.
FRANCE:
-- The pension reform was signed into law by President
Nicolas Sarkozy on Nov. 9. The reform raised the minimum
retirement age to 62 from 60 and the full retirement age to 67
from 65 to balance the loss-ridden pension system by 2018.
-- Fierce opposition by trade unions and the French public,
who staged a sustained wave of protests over austerity measures,
turned the reform into the biggest battle of Sarkozy's
presidency. Unions mobilised nationwide street protests eight
times since early September and rolling strikes at oil
refineries caused serious fuel shortages at one stage, but the
strikes are over and the turnout for protests slumped.
(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)
