All-Russian protest against raising the retirement age increased
In the second half of September 2018, in the days when the fate of the bill in the State Duma was decided, the number of meetings and pickets increased even more in comparison with the first autumn days. Only in the period from September 17 to 23, protest actions against the anti-popular plans of Putin and Medvedev to increase the retirement age took place in more than 100 cities. The most massive was the rally in Moscow, which was attended by about 40,000 people. In Omsk, approximately 2,000 citizens took part in the action, over 1,000 in Sverdlovsk and Cherepovets of the Vologda region, over 800 in Krasnoyarsk, 700 each in Orel and Ulyanovsk, 600 in each in Izhevsk and Astrakhan, and 500 in Irkutsk and Ulyanovsk, in Omsk - 400, in Leningrad - over 300, in Vladivostok - 250, in Novotroitsk, Orenburg Region, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Cheboksary, Krasnodar, Kalinin (Tver) - 200 people each. Protests were also held in Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Voronezh, Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Anadyr, Chita, Tomsk, Magadan, Barnaul, Kazan, Samara, Krasnoyarsk, Simferopol, Rostov-on-Don, Cherkessk, Sochi, Abakan, as well as in many regional centers of the Stalingrad and Chelyabinsk regions, the Krasnodar Territory and many other regions.
The protesting workers, peasants, students, retirees, the unemployed, representatives of the intelligentsia held in their hands posters on which it was written: “Got all the millionaires, and keep pensioners!”, “In the coffin we will see this pension!”, “Pension reform - robbery of workers ! "," I do not want to die at work! "," Chose Putin, enjoy the price increase! "," United Russia ", stop the nightmare of old men!", "I want to live until retirement!" At many protests, people called on Putin and Medvedev to resign. For example, on September 22 in Astrakhan at a rally one representatives of the Left Party was holding a banner reading "Putin's resignation only to stop the pension reform!"
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Workers strike in Leningrad
On September 24 metrostroevtsy suspended work. During the strike, the SMU-10 team demanded to pay off the salary debt.
Refusal to perform work duties in connection with the non-payment of money since mid-July, wrote many workers of the company "Management №10 Metrostroy."
Because of the protest, work was partially stopped at the tunnel of the ferry between Primorskaya and Novokrestovskaya, as well as at the Borovaya metro station under construction.
The reaction to the worker’s protest was quite fast - the money for the second half of July was found in just a few hours, and not only for the protesting SMU-10, but also for the workers of other contracting organizations. The bosses of Metrostroy expressed the hope that, having received part of their salary, the workers would return to their facilities, but did not bother to name the date for paying the money for August and September.
The workers were determined. “We are waiting for the remuneration of our work for August - September, we will most likely not go to work until this point,” said one of them.
“People have nothing to feed the children while the leaders drive around on expensive cars and lead a chic lifestyle. While I’m waiting for the money, I’ll probably work as a loader,” said another protester.
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Strike in the Amur region
On September 26, workers at the site of mechanization of the pumping station No. 23 in the village of Tygda declared a strike. Employees to whom the employer has not yet paid wages for June-August, refused to take up their duties.
They demanded to pay off wage arrears for June, July and August, to start issuing settlement sheets monthly, handing them employment contracts, and paying travel allowance and returning the cost of train tickets.
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Rally in Tolyatti
On September 23 in the evening, a rally was held in the local park against the air pollution of this large city of the Kuibyshev region. The protest action, officially authorized by the authorities, lasted for an hour and a half and gathered 1,200 people - just such a number of citizens put their signatures under a resolution adopted by the rally’s results to the Togliatti authorities. Workers, pensioners, representatives of the intelligentsia demanded that officials tighten their control over the cleanliness of the atmosphere. Those who came to the rally had posters with the text: "We want to breathe fresh air!", "We are defending the environment for our children."
Togliatti people feel the air pollution on their own health, especially in the morning: there is nothing to breathe, eyes and nose mucosa, larynx literally burns. In some kindergartens, children were no longer taken out for a morning walk.
In Tolyatti, the number of oncological diseases has doubled in seven years, and there is a real smothering of people by chemical emissions under the tacit connivance of the local authorities.
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Protest in the capital of Lithuania
On September 17, a rally of cultural workers gathered in Vilnius outside the government building. They demanded a salary increase of 75 euros each.
Their earnings last increased in 2016. However, this increase has already been swallowed up by inflation. On average, Lithuanian cultural and art workers receive salaries, which rank third among the lowest earnings in the European Union.
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Abroad
General strike in Argentina
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of cities on September 26 to protest the austerity measures announced by President Makri. These are the conditions that the government must fulfill in order to receive a cash loan from the IMF.
The strike was organized by the largest Argentine trade union association - the General Confederation of Labor. It was attended by workers, employees, and other categories of the population. Because of the protest, banks and judicial bodies were closed, and there were stoppages in the work of railway and air transport.
Prior to that, within a month, university teachers and school teachers were on strike against the government’s plans, since the upcoming measures imply a substantial reduction in the financing of the educational system.
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Thousands attend of demonstration in the capital of Poland
On September 22, one of the largest demonstrations organized by trade unions in recent years took place in Warsaw. Under the slogan “Poland needs a salary increase!”, About 16 thousand workers, employees, representatives of the intelligentsia took to the streets, who demanded wage increases from the authorities.
The grand demonstration, which began in the very center of the Polish capital at exactly noon, was attended by representatives of all sectoral organizations that are members of the All-Poland Trade Union Agreement.
With banners and banners, energy workers, teachers, builders, transport workers, workers in main industries, trade and services workers, people of culture and art walked hand in hand. The basic slogan is simple: “We need to raise wages!”.
Another important requirement is the amendment of the pension legislation. According to trade union activists, every citizen of the country should receive the right to early retirement, regardless of age. Everything must be decided solely by seniority. For women, the mandatory experience should be 35 years, and for men - 40.
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London tube drivers strike
September 26 at 13:00 in the British capital, the strike began. It was organized by the drivers of the Piccadilly line tube trains.
The trade union, defending the interests of the workers of the underground, could not agree with its superiors and the mayoralty on raising wages and improving working conditions. Therefore, the drivers did not see any other way out except for the strike.
