The workforce strikes back: Europe's unions battle cost-of-living crisis

Depending on who you ask, Europe is either living through a “hot strike summer” of workers standing up for their rights or a “summer of discontent” wrecking the holiday plans of millions. 

There is no doubt that strikes are back in fashion. The walkouts on Britain’s railways are the worst for decades, telecoms workers downed tools for the first time since the 1980s, airline disputes across Europe are affecting the industry’s comeback from the pandemic, and doctors and teachers could be next out of the door.

Worse still, there is more to come. Further strike action is planned across the national rail networks, continuing a summer of disruption, with National Rail and workers’ unions locked in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Staff will walkout this weekend on Saturday and also on Thursday and next Saturday.

Alongside heatwaves reminiscent of Britain's great 'summer of 1976', the plethora of strikes also has a ring of the 1970s when workers downed tools and brought the UK to a halt, with bins and rubbish piled up in streets for weeks the most stark sign of a country in trouble.

READ MORE : https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/2022/08/12/the-workforce-strikes-back-europes-unions-battle-cost-of-living-crisis/