European Workers Issues
Germany: Siemens cuts another 2,500 jobs
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 18 March 2016
Siemens management announced the cutting of a further 2,500 jobs on March 9, with motor plants in Bavaria being hit hardest.
French government, trade unions rework reactionary labor reform
By Anthony Torres, 17 March 2016
The unions and the Socialist Party want to channel workers’ opposition to the most unpopular government since World War II behind minor changes to its hated reform.
Glasgow City Council workers strike against cuts and poverty wages
By Steve James and Minnie Watson, 17 March 2016
Another round of spending cuts imposed by the Scottish National Party government on behalf of the Conservative central government is likely to cost as many as 15,000 job losses.
English National Opera chorus to strike
By Margot Miller, 15 March 2016
The action was announced on the steps of the headquarters of Arts Council England.
Workers, students march against French labor law reform
By Alex Lantier, 14 March 2016
The brutal police crackdown in Lyon underscores that, under cover of the state of emergency, the Socialist Party aims to illegalize constitutionally protected protests.
Striking cashiers and dockers interrogated under French state of emergency
By Anthony Torres, 10 March 2016
The unprecedented attack on the right to strike is yet another warning of the anti-working class character of the state of emergency imposed by the Socialist Party.
Mass layoffs at Bombardier hit Germany
By Dietmar Henning, 10 March 2016
In Germany, the works council and IG Metall trade union are working hand-in-glove with management to implement job cuts.
UK energy firms rake in profits as “fuel poverty” escalates
By Emily Wilson and Robert Stevens, 9 March 2016
In recent years, the annual profits of British Gas averaged £584 million.
Bombardier adds to Northern Ireland manufacturing jobs massacre
By Harvey Thompson, 1 March 2016
The corporation announced that 1,080 jobs would go at its plant in Belfast, Ireland, which makes the wings for its new C-Series plane.
Strike at 200 Further Education colleges in England
By Margot Miller, 27 February 2016
Some Further Education staff have suffered a reduction in pay by as much as 17 percent after years on lower than inflation pay rises.
French labor law reform sets stage for historic attack on workers’ rights
By Francis Dubois, 22 February 2016
The impact of this reform is being compared to that of epoch-making attacks like the Hartz IV reforms in Germany or the breaking of the PATCO union in the US.
Portuguese government prepares second austerity package
By Paul Mitchell, 22 February 2016
The Eurogroup welcomed the commitment of the Socialist Party/Left Bloc/Communist Party coalition to comply with the EU’s austerity demands.
European Steel unions demand trade war in Brussels
By Dietmar Henning, 20 February 2016
The European trade unions, led by Germany’s IG Metall, demonstrated last Monday in Brussels for trade war measures against Russia and China.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
19 February 2016
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Government to impose contract on junior doctors after second England-wide strike
By Robert Stevens, 12 February 2016
The government’s unprecedented and authoritarian move signifies a new stage in the efforts of the ruling elite to dismantle the National Health Service.
British junior doctors speak from the picket lines
By our reporters, 12 February 2016
Striking junior doctors and their supporters say that the government’s attacks on them are part of a broader assault on the National Health Service.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 February 2016
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Tens of thousands of steel, energy, retail, government jobs cut in the UK
By Harvey Thompson, 11 February 2016
Jobs are being destroyed in every sector, amid growing global economic turmoil.
Italian steel work faces closure or sell-off
By Marianne Arens, 8 February 2016
On January 11, 500 steel workers occupied the city hall in Genoa to protest the likely loss of their jobs.
Reject the Rail Maritime and Transport Union’s call to accept latest London Underground sell-out contract!
By Michael Barnes, 6 February 2016
Rail workers have seen the trade unions sabotage every struggle against the Conservative government since 2010.
Mass one-day strike hits Syriza’s austerity measures in Greece
By Robert Stevens, 5 February 2016
Just over one year after it came to power, Syriza, the party that was hailed by pseudo-left groups internationally, is an object of hatred and contempt.
Ten thousand jobs in danger at Volkswagen
By Dietmar Henning, 29 January 2016
VW has signaled through the corporate press that it is planning mass layoffs, wage cuts and a drastic worsening of working conditions.
Over a thousand jobs to go at Welsh steel plants
By Danny Richardson, 28 January 2016
There is no suggestion of opposition from either the trade unions or the Labour Party.
Mass protests against pension cuts in Greece
By Christoph Dreier, 23 January 2016
In Greece, an increasing number of professional groups are protesting against the planned pension cuts of the Syriza government.
2016 will be a year of escalating class struggle
By Jerry White, 4 January 2016
Class conflict will become an ever-more dominant feature of life in 2016 as the ruling classes in the US and around the world demand that workers pay for the global economic crisis.
The fracturing of the European Union
By Peter Schwarz, 28 December 2015
In the last century, great power aspirations, nationalism and fascism made the continent the focus of two world wars, which claimed nearly 100 million victims. Now, these same tendencies are spreading once again.
UK: Employment practises of Sports Direct retail giant exposed
By Harvey Thompson and Robert Stevens, 24 December 2015
Sports Direct has gained notoriety for its employment conditions, with its Shirebrook warehouse known locally as the “Gulag”.
Amid French state of emergency, Sodexo sacks 19 workers for striking
By Kumaran Ira, 23 December 2015
The sudden and unprecedented mass sacking by food and facilities management multinational Sodexo is an attack on the constitutionally protected right to strike.
Kellingley Colliery—last remaining deep coal mine in Britain—closes
By Harvey Thompson and Trevor Johnson, 22 December 2015
When Kellingley opened in 1965, coal production in Britain employed around 500,000 workers and produced up to 177 million tonnes of coal.
Government conspiracy against 1972 UK builders’ strike exposed
By Barry Mason, 15 December 2015
The frame-up of the striking workers, known as the Shrewsbury 24, required the intimate involvement of then-Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath.
Opel Bochum: Few new jobs a year after plant closure
By Dietmar Henning, 12 December 2015
2,500 former Opel workers will soon face unemployment.
OECD finds UK pensions amongst lowest in world
By Margot Miller, 9 December 2015
Pensions have come under sustained attack by the previous Labour, Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition and present Conservative governments.
British Medical Association calls off UK junior doctors strikes
By Robert Stevens, 2 December 2015
The BMA’s betrayal allows the government further time to come up with a repackaged deal, in order to carry out effectively the same attacks on doctors’ employment conditions and pay.
German flight attendants’ strike ends without result
By Marianne Arens, 20 November 2015
The leadership of the flight attendants’ union UFO used a large strike demonstration in Frankfurt to reassure Lufthansa management that it will support corporate restructuring.
The Political Lessons of Syriza’s Betrayal in Greece
Statement of the International Committee of the Fourth International
13 November 2015
The warnings of the ICFI and WSWS that Syriza was a pro-capitalist party, hostile to the working class, have been completely vindicated.
Strike shuts down London Docklands Light Railway
By Ross Mitchell, 12 November 2015
The current owner has a history of slashing costs by sub-tendering jobs to its own contractors.
Postal workers strike in Belgium
By Ross Mitchell, 27 October 2015
Belgium Post’s plan to increase productivity and enforce flexible work schedules across the board is intended to prepare the way for full scale privatisation.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
23 October 2015
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Thousands of job losses in UK steel industry
By Danny Richardson and Robert Stevens, 21 October 2015
The main steel unions have repeated their customary pro-business objections, centring on condemning cheap steel imports from China and high taxes on UK steel manufacturers.
Eight refugees killed by European border guards
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 19 October 2015
The barbaric refugee policies of the European Union are claiming more and more lives every week.
Police arrest Air France strikers who confronted bosses over mass layoffs
By Kumaran Ira, 14 October 2015
The arrest of the strikers is a deliberate act of political intimidation aimed at the working class as a whole, which is broadly sympathetic to the strikers.
GM-Opel workers in Germany support struggle of US autoworkers
By our reporters, 13 October 2015
WSWS reporters spoke to workers in front of the gates of the GM-Opel Rüsselsheim plant on Friday, and many declared their solidarity with their American brothers and sisters.
German childcare workers’ wage dispute: Vote “no”!
By the Socialist Equality Party (Germany), 13 October 2015
Although union members resoundingly rejected an arbitration proposal in June, the trade unions are now holding a new vote on virtually the same sell-out contract.
Volkswagen uses emissions crisis to impose deep cuts
By Ulrich Rippert, 9 October 2015
The IG Metall trade union and works council are paying a key role in the planned restructuring of Volkswagen, which will entail major cuts and layoffs.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
9 October 2015
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Germany: Works council and union agree to job cuts at Siemens Power & Gas
By Gustav Kemper, 7 October 2015
IG Metall has has sought to suppress any serious resistance by staging a few harmless protest actions.
Workers revolt against mass layoffs at Air France
By Alex Lantier, 6 October 2015
Hundreds of workers invaded a meeting between Air France management and unions to plan mass layoffs, attacking company executives.
Britain’s second largest steelworks at Redcar faces closure
By Tony Robson, 6 October 2015
The trade unions have complied with every demand of the company on the pretext that increased competitiveness would guarantee future production.
Unions renew attempt to sell out German childcare workers
By Marianne Arens, 5 October 2015
The public service unions are trying to force through a deal virtually identical to the proposal recently voted down by an overwhelming majority of union members.
German union IG Metall holds one-day protests against short-term contracts
By Gustav Kemper, 3 October 2015
IG Metall, which is directly integrated into management, is fully aware of and tacitly accepts the practice.
German government adopts drastic measures to deter refugees
By Peter Schwarz, 19 September 2015
Refugees are to be scared away through hunger and homelessness, and transported back like cattle to countries where unspeakable conditions prevail.
Thousands more jobs to go across all sectors in UK
By Margot Miller, 19 September 2015
Local authorities in the UK face more devastating cuts, after already having their budgets slashed to pay for the bailout of the super-rich following the 2008 economic crisis.
German court declares pilots strike illegal, forcing return to work
By Dietmar Henning, 10 September 2015
The court action, which follows entirely the arguments of Lufthansa, is a deeply undemocratic decision that effectively abolishes the right to strike.
London Underground unions call off strikes
By Michael Barnes, 29 August 2015
All four unions which had threatened to strike are now working out the formula with which to force 24-hour work upon their members.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
28 August 2015
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 August 2015
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Syriza agrees to full list of EU austerity demands in new bailout plan
By Robert Stevens, 12 August 2015
The proposed deal, which accepts all the main demands of the "troika," will have catastrophic consequences for Greece’s already impoverished population.
Germany: Layoffs at gourmet chain Karstadt/Perfetto
By Jan Peters and Marianne Arens, 12 August 2015
German department store group Karstadt is closing more branches and sacking hundreds of staff.
London Tube workers carry out 24-hour strike
By Paul Mitchell, 8 August 2015
Although deliberately limited by the unions, the walkout brought the capital city of 8.63 million people to a virtual standstill.
London Tube worker describes issues in struggle
By our correspondent, 8 August 2015
London Underground worker explains how the introduction of night work would set the precedent for further attacks on conditions.
UK teachers leave profession in record numbers
By Tania Kent, 7 August 2015
Applications for teaching jobs have declined by 27,000 in the last 12 months.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 August 2015
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International Viewpoint, Syriza and the fraud of Greece’s “Truth Committee” on debt
By Robert Stevens, 4 August 2015
Syriza’s initial support for a debt audit was merely a diversion to prevent any mobilisation of the working class against the EU and the Greek ruling class.
London Underground workers set to hold second 24-hour strike
By Daniel O’Flynn, 4 August 2015
LU workers are involved in a political struggle with the employers and government, which want to reorganise the transport system on behalf of global capital.
Union calls off District line action prior to London Underground strike
By Ross Mitchell, 3 August 2015
Seven drivers, members of ASLEF, were suspended by LUL management for refusing to take out trains as part of union-initiated industrial action.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
31 July 2015
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Tata Steel to sack 720 workers in England
By Danny Richardson, 23 July 2015
The plan to shut down three steel bar manufacturing plants is part of a six-year long business restructuring strategy.
German auto workers condemn austerity deal imposed on Greece
By our correspondents, 17 July 2015
Workers at GM-Opel’s Rüsselsheim plant denounced the brutal austerity measures imposed on Greece last weekend by the German government.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
17 July 2015
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Germany: Outokumpu steel plant closes in Bochum
By Philipp Frisch, 10 July 2015
The shutting of the plant followed a well-known script, with the unions seeking to keep employees quiet with vague promises of job security, while the plant was closed in installments.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
10 July 2015
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German Ver.di trade union sells out postal workers strike
By Gustav Kemper, 9 July 2015
After a four-week strike and a high degree of militancy by German postal workers, the Verdi trade union has accepted a contract that is directly opposed to workers’ interests.
A landslide “no” to EU austerity in Greece
By Alex Lantier, 6 July 2015
Yesterday’s “no” vote in Greece is a massive popular repudiation of the EU and the austerity agenda it has pursued across Europe since the 2008 economic crisis.
Ver.di ends strike at Berlin’s Charité hospital
By Markus Salzmann, 6 July 2015
The Ver.di trade union is fraudulently celebrating the agreement at the Charité as a great breakthrough.
On the spot report from Athens
Mass demonstration opposes austerity in Greece
By Robert Stevens and Christoph Dreier, 4 July 2015
Tens of thousands of people took part in a demonstration Friday evening in Athens in opposition to the austerity programme of the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
On eve of referendum
Rumbles of military coup as Greek workers demand end to EU austerity
By Alex Lantier, 4 July 2015
Statements by retired military officers calling for a “yes” vote in Sunday’s Greek referendum carry the implied threat of a coup.
German train drivers’ union agrees to strike ban effective until 2020
By Dietmar Henning, 4 July 2015
Hidden within a new agreement with Deutsche Bahn, the GDL has agreed to a “binding arbitration settlement”—in effect, a strike ban—for the life of the contract.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
3 July 2015
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Germany: IG Metall union suppresses opposition at ThyssenKrupp
By Dietmar Henning, 1 July 2015
IG Metall at Thyssen Krupp is trying to stifle all opposition and erect a sophisticated system aimed at policing workers at the factory.
Syriza’s fraudulent capital controls
By Nick Beams, 30 June 2015
Billions of euros have been taken out of Greece by wealthy individuals and corporations in order to make a financial killing if the country goes back to the drachma.
UK unions abandon strike threat at Tata Steel
By Danny Richardson, 29 June 2015
A spokesman for Tata Steel indicated that the company believes it has made gains at workers’ expense.
Ver.di seeks to impose sellout of German childcare workers strike
By Marianne Arens, 27 June 2015
Many workers who had placed great hopes in the strike are incensed over Ver.di’s behaviour.
German child care strike delegates rebuff union president
By Marianne Arens, 26 June 2015
The arbitration proposal brought by the ver.di leadership to end the month-long child care workers strike would amount to a freeze in real wages for 240,000 workers.
Dortmund: Steelworkers protest against plant closure
By Philipp Frisch, 26 June 2015
Workers denounced management and demanded strike action at a workplace meeting at the Hoesch sheet steel works (HSP) earlier this month.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
26 June 2015
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Striking Berlin hospital workers denounce austerity, staffing cuts
By our correspondents, 25 June 2015
Several hundred nurses and care workers gathered at the Ministry of Health on the second day of the strike at Berlin’s Charité Hospital, Europe’s largest health facility.
The role of Ver.di and the Left Party in the Berlin health workers strike
By Markus Salzmann and Ulrich Rippert, 24 June 2015
The precondition for a successful struggle at Berlin’s Charité is a break with Ver.di and its workplace organization.
Ukrainians testify to a life of poverty and violence under US-backed government
By Jason Melanovski, 22 June 2015
The WSWS recently spoke with Ukrainian workers and students on the current state of social and economic conditions under the right-wing regime of Petro Poroshenko.
Nurses strike at Berlin Charité clinic in Germany
By Ute Reissner, 22 June 2015
Nurses and other caregivers at the largest university hospital in Europe are walking out against understaffing and the sacrifice of patient care for profit.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
19 June 2015
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 June 2015
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Mass layoffs in French nuclear energy industry threaten 6,000 jobs worldwide
By Anthony Torres, 10 June 2015
Electricité de France, which is acquiring nuclear energy firm Areva and threatening mass layoffs, is sitting on cash reserves of tens of billions of euros.
Germany: The reactionary politics of IG Metall and the works council at Siemens
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 10 June 2015
IG Metall has responded to the announcement of layoffs at Siemens by calling for increasing the company’s competitiveness at the expense of the workforce.
Spanish telecom workers strike against “precariousness and slave labour”
By Vicky Short, 30 May 2015
The Telefónica-Movistar workers’ struggle has received widespread support, but the bankrupt perspective of the unions is endangering the strike.
Spanish telecom strikers: “We have to resist until we achieve something”
By Carlos Hernández, 30 May 2015
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to striking Spanish Telefónica-Movistar technicians and installers.
Works council elections at Germany’s ThyssenKrupp: What way forward?
By Dietmar Henning, 28 May 2015
The problems confronting ThyssenKrupp workers in Duisburg cannot be resolved on the basis of a trade unionist strategy.
UK rail unions call off strike action
By Michael Barnes, 23 May 2015
The unions have betrayed a large strike mandate and disarmed rail-workers in the face of a ferocious assault by the incoming Conservative government.
German train drivers’ union calls off strike and agrees to arbitration
By Ulrich Rippert, 22 May 2015
The strike was called off Thursday, the day before the Bundestag takes up the contentious “contract unity” bill, which would essentially ban strikes by smaller unions in an industry.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
15 May 2015
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Nationwide strike by child care workers in Germany
By Marianne Arens, 14 May 2015
Striking workers in child care and social services confront not only their employers, but also the trade unions.
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