Joint Announcement of the Trade Unions of TUI
PS Europe of WFTU
Fellow workers in public
services Europe,
A wave of struggles has already started, in several trade unions in
Europe, with the main demand of these struggles being wage increases, measures
against inflation and rising prices, against the acceleration of privatisations
of strategic sectors.
The common belief is that the coming months will be difficult, for the
workers. Everyone is talking about a recession that will hit working people's
families. The impact on people's incomes will be great.
We are facing the unbearable
accuracy in electricity, fuel and other basic consumer goods, miserable wages
and pensions, and degraded health and welfare services in the midst of the
pandemic with thousands of deaths.
We are currently experiencing
the highest inflation in Europe during the last 40 years. Large increases in
the prices of energy, food, have contributed decisively to the rise in
inflation.
The workers all over Europe are
thus being asked to pay for the policy of 'green' business, sanctions and
counter-sanctions in the context of imperialist war and the 'return' to
stricter fiscal policy, after having paid for expansionist policies and the
provision of cheap money for business groups.
The governments are trying to fool the workers and the popular strata
with various crumbs of benefits. These cannot be used to counter the attack on
workers' incomes by the huge inefficiency, the uncontrolled prices of energy,
food, and a range of popular consumer goods.
It is not possible to deal with accuracy with crumbs of benefits if
income is not supported by increases in wages, by reductions and price caps,
but also by abolishing VAT on basic goods.
Can there be a solution to energy poverty if there is no plan for the
immediate exploitation of all energy sources against the EU's commitments to
'green growth' and emissions trading? Without abolishing the Energy Stock
Market and all the contracts that determine the indexation clauses? Without
stopping sanctions from EU countries to Russia? Without abolishing taxes on
fuel and electricity?
Our struggles can bring results,
our struggles are what the employers, their state and governments fear and
fight. The images from many countries such as recently in Great Britain, the
Netherlands, Spain, with the big strikes show how the pot boils. These
struggles are something promising. They show that the working class has not
said its last word.
·
We demand generous increases in our
wages to meet our needs.
·
We demand price reduction and
abolishment of VAT on basic consumer goods.
·
Price reduction in fuel, energy and
transportation.
Trade Unions of TUI PS
Europe of WFTU
Athens,28.9.22