|
French workers holding new strike
[Iran Press TV] France faces major disruption as workers plan to take to the streets once again to protest against the government's proposed pension reform program.This is the fourth such strike since politicians approved the increase of the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62. Labor unions have threatened the government with an open-ended strike to protest plans to hike the retirement age. Half of flights to and from Paris Orly airport will be cancelled on Tuesday because of walkouts. The Paris Metro is also expected to be badly hit due to the transport workers' strike. Continuing protests have already caused disruptions and shut down ports across the country. Opposition parties accuse President Nicolas Sarkozy of seeking to provoke a "showdown" that could lead to the economy being blocked by strike action. "He wants to use this law as proof of his supposed reforming courage by bringing the unions to their knees and reversing major social advances," AFP quoted an opposition Socialist leader, David Assouline, as saying on Monday. The pension bill is a key piece of the reform program of President Sarkozy, whose opinion poll ratings are currently at record lows. The French government hopes to implement the change as part of a larger reform package meant to cut pension costs. Other points of the bill, which include raising the age for full state pension to 67, remain to be voted on, and the Senate's deliberations are expected to last until October 15. Three mass protests over the past month have failed to convince the government to drop the plan. French labor unions have also called for a national day of strikes on October 16 over the government's tough economic policies. Posted by: 2010-10-13 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=307510 |