France: Massive Public Sector Strikes

disgruntled | 10.03.2005 14:40 | Sheffield

Massive public sector strikes in France, similar to issues here, but we just moan

from the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4182961.stm

French postal workers have gone on strike, launching days of public sector walkouts that will also hit the railways and electricity grid.

The postal unions are angry at plans to open up the service to outside competition in line with EU directives.

Trade unions said some 20% of their staff had joined the one-day strike, but employers put the number at 15%.

Rail workers also began their one-day action late on Tuesday, that is set to bring chaos to France's railways.

Electricity workers will stage walkouts on Wednesday, with teachers and other civil servants protesting on Thursday.

The strikes are being seen as an important test for the centre-right government of President Jacques Chirac.

The unions say the government's economic policies are a threat both to the public sector and to the purchasing power of working men and women.

Their demands include higher wages, and an end to moves to relax the 35-hour working week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4182961.stm

disgruntled

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Olympic bid

10.03.2005 15:18

The strikes are likely to have been the killer blow for the Paris Olympic bid and near certain victory for London. Olympic officials were stranded were three hours this morning in their hotels and later a French Trade Union leader interviewed on Europe 1 radio said that the Olympics represented an "excellent opportunity for industrial action".

Paris which had been reported as having a narrow lead over London (with New York, Moscow and Madrid far behind) is now seen as well behind. On the offical Olympic review document possible strikes were flagged up as a risk in Paris and to happen on the day of the visit was the worst possible time.

Not Lord Coe

wake up! 1.5 million UK public sector workers to strike!

11.03.2005 14:26

Before you leap to slag off UK trade unionists and tell us how crap we all are, you might want to check out today's news:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4338885.stm

type

So?

11.03.2005 17:07

People whose salaries are paid for by the rest of us are doing no work. SO what's new?

and who pays your wages?

14.03.2005 12:29

That's such a bullshit argument. Public sector workers' wages come out of taxes, yes. But where do private sector workers' wages come from? Prices! Prices of the goods and services we all buy. So really we all pay each other's wages. Basic economics.

cross

more basic economics

14.03.2005 19:45

wealth comes from making things, from widgets to aircraft. Public sector workers do not make things. Hence the money they sometimes earn comes from those who do the making.

services are products with value too

15.03.2005 12:25

No, sorry, look: Production consists of both goods and services, as anyone who's done GCSE Economics could tell you. It's a crude misunderstanding to think 'wealth' only includes physical stuff.

F'rinstance if a doctor treats your broken leg, can you deny that has (economic) value to you? If we didn't have a tax-funded Health Service you'd pay for hospital treatment if you needed it and could afford it wouldn't you? More trivial example: every time you pay for a haircut or pay to go to a gig, you're proving services have economic value.

Public sector workers deliver services. Not even the maddest right-wing economists deny those services have value. The 'debate' (such as there is) is over which services should be provided free at the point of use, funded from tax, and which should be left to market demand, ie. those who can pay get them.

And in this case, over whether the workers delivering these services should get decent pay and pensions. Back to the point at hand: please support the strikes!

cross