As austerity protests in Greece and Spain erupt, international unions have blamed flawed government economic policies for driving workers onto the streets.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is campaigning for governments to shift their response to budget pressures from that of slashing spending to that of investing in jobs to allow economies to grow their way out of their current troubles.
According to the ITUC unemployment levels are rising across Europe, reaching 23 per cent in Greece and 50 per cent in Spain; eight per cent of Europe’s population faces ‘extreme poverty’ – with 30 per cent below the poverty line in Greece; and while the top ten per cent of income earners are getting wealthier, the income gap between the rich and the poorest 10 per cent of the population is rapidly increasing.
The ‘Troika’ of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are linking assistance to attacks on labour rights and pension provisions, a policy Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz describes as ‘medieval blood-letting’.
In its ‘Eurozone Jobs Crisis’ report released in June, International Labour Organisation (ILO) warned that austerity policies will place a further 4.5 million jobs at risk over the next four years, bringing Europe’s total unemployed to more than 22 million.
The ITUC backs this analysis, arguing that investing in jobs is the only way to stimulate growth and bring budgets back into surplus.
Greeks take to streets
Plans to drive down the minimum wage sparked Wednesday’s general strike, with workers across the nation stopping work and those in Athens marching on the Greek Parliament.
News sites are estimating more than 50,000 people took to the streets in Athens, and there were reports of violent clashes as police attempted to control the crowd with tear gas and pepper spray.
The marchers were opposing austerity measures that the government has promised the IMF, measures that will rip 12 billion euros out of the economy, with wages, social welfare, health care and pension scheme facing hefty cuts.
Global research undertaken earlier this year by the ITUC shows that 29 per cent of Greeks do not have sufficient finances to cover their basic essentials while two thirds fear losing their job.
Eighty one per cent believe the banks have too much power while 70 per cent of Greeks would support a financial transactions tax.
The ILO calculated that if Greece leaves the Eurozone, unemployment would increase even in Germany, where it predicted the so-called ‘Grexit’ could cause the jobless rate to rise by 25 per cent.
Guy Ryder, the director-general elect of the International Labour Organization (ILO), told a recent jobs conference in Brussels: “Had we been at the table in Greece, we could have made a difference”.
Spanish Inquisition
Meanwhile, recriminations are under way over Spanish protests that boiled in Madrid on Tuesday.
More than 20 protestors were injured as they confronted more than 1,000 riot police during the protests, with images of some protestors being beaten with batons.
With unemployment tipping 25 per cent, and a growing budget, Spain is seeking help from the European Central Bank, help that will be contingent on further spending cuts, continuing the vicious budget cycle.
Since 2007, the beginning of the economic crisis, people in need seeking help from charity organisations have passed from 370,000 to one million, a recent report from Caritas Española reveals.
But as the unions and authorities argue over who was to blame, one universal villain has emerged – Spanish online media, like El Periódico, are reporting that on the day after the ES bank bailout, Spanish President Rajoy and five of his staff managed to spend 1,000 euro on a dinner while flying to Euro 2012 football match.
