Thousands of people from across the EU are set to march in Brussels today in protest at harsh austerity measures by their governments.As well as the march on Belgium's capital, a general strike is being held in Spain, while protests are planned in Greece, Poland, Italy, Latvia, Ireland, and Serbia.
The European Trade Union Confederation (Etuc) says that it hopes that about 100,000 people from about 30 different countries will take part in the Brussels march.
Many national governments across the EU have imposed tough packages of cuts to wages, pensions, and employment to reduce their budget deficits.
Etuc says that the financial crisis has made 23 million people across the EU jobless, and that austerity measures could make this worse. It said: "We didn't cause this crisis. The bill has to be paid by banks, not by workers."
Reflect on that figure of 23 million jobless. That would equate for something in excess of £500 billion pounds in lost wages in just one year. Almost the entire defecit of the EU is being paid for by the salaries of sacked staff, almost none of whom will be the bankers, financiers regulators and politicians of all stripes that caused the crash. On top of this all of these countries are being stricken by massive cuts to education, health and welfare. And we will be next.
In Spain, unemployment has doubled in just three years, while Greece and Ireland are seeing their highest levels of unemployment in ten years. Britain, where public spending will be cut by up to 25 per cent, is also part of this trend.
