LONDON (Dispatches) - Workers in many countries of Europe have launched strikes to protest against inflation and the rising cost of living.
More than 115,000 workers at Britain’s Royal Mail began the first of four days of strike action on Friday in a pay dispute which the postal group said was likely to cause significant disruption for customers.
It is the latest in a spate of labor stoppages to hit Britain as workers demand higher wages in the face of a cost-of-living crisis, with energy bills soaring and inflation projected to exceed 13% later this year.
“We are going to fight very hard here to get the pay rise our members deserve,” Communication Workers Union General Secretary Dave Ward told Sky News.
Royal Mail says it has offered a 5.5% pay rise for CWU-grade workers, its biggest increase in years.
The union, which said the strike was the biggest industrial action taken by workers this summer in Britain, disputes this and says the company has imposed a 2% pay increase on workers, and offered a further 1.5% subject to changes to terms and conditions.
Inflation hit a record high across Europe with governments failing to hike salaries in some countries.
Labor unions in different sectors have taken collective strike decisions in recent weeks as their purchasing power erodes in the face of rising inflation.
Alongside the dispute over pay raises, workers are also demanding improvement in working conditions and pension rights.
Those who quit their jobs include subway workers, bus drivers and Uber drivers, teachers, dockers, lawyers, healthcare workers, sanitation workers, aviation and postal service workers.
Some 1,900 workers are striking in Felixstowe, a port in Edinburgh which is an important waterway of the UK for freight transport.
Criminal lawyers, who went on strike last month, decided to strike again for the next month. Criminal lawyers will walk out indefinitely in England and Wales from Sept. 5.
Workers in postal service and telecommunication sector in the UK will also hold a work stoppage in the coming days. Health workers in Scotland will also launch a strike in the coming days.
In the Netherlands, the unions warned to continue the strikes till September if the Dutch Railways (NS) does not comply with their demands.
Their demands are for a one-time payment of 600 euros, and a permanent increase of 100 Euros in their monthly salary.
NS railway operator said the company is dealing with “a tight labor market, rising prices, and lagging passenger numbers.”
It warned about traffic disruptions in the Netherlands and on international routes, urging people to “use other transportation or postpone your trip”.
In Germany, a strike of ground personnel at carrier Lufthansa cost 35 million Euros, leading to the cancellation of a thousand flights, affecting 134,000 passengers.
The aviation sector strike in Spain since the beginning of the month has also led to the cancellation of many flights, causing disruptions for passengers and losses for the country’s tourism sector.
Europe is facing hardest of times with soaring prices of goods. In the coming months, more strikes are expected to break out.
Despite the holiday period in Germany on July 27, after the Ver.di union calling, ground personnel at the Lufthansa company went on a warning strike demanding an increase in wages. Munich and Frankfurt airports, one of the country’s most important airports, were blocked due to the strike.
Over 1,000 flights were canceled due to the strike, and that situation affected 134,000 passengers. After the strike, which cost about €35 million, the employer was able to reach an agreement with the Ver.di union.
However, collective bargaining between Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, and the Cockpit Union, the pilots’ union, have stalled.
In a statement, the Cockpit Union said that the collective bargaining were stalled, urging its members to vote to determine whether they supported the union’s path in the negotiations. As a result of the voting, the union will be able to decide to strike.