.Transport strikes lay bare Europe's malaise
PARIS (AP) - With economic recovery barely there and talk of austerity spreading, many European workers are pushing back.
French air traffic controllers walked off the job Tuesday just as Lufthansa pilots ended a strike and British Airways cabin crews voted to launch one of their own. Greek unions prepared to shut down much of their country Wednesday with wide-ranging strikes.
These workers - like those blockading the Athens stock market, and demonstrators angry at proposed delayed retirements in Spain - fear for their hard-earned comforts as European governments and companies tighten belts to stay solvent.
The walkouts are the latest signs of a broader unease about jobs and benefits, and what the future holds for a continent struggling to stay competitive on a global scale.
From Communist-backed protesters who blocked the Athens stock market Tuesday to labor unions angry at plans to require Spaniards to retire at 67 instead of 65, Europeans face the unsettling prospect of seeing some of the comforts and benefits won over the decades slip away.
Air traffic controllers walked off the job across France as a four-day strike began on Tuesday, testing the patience of would-be travelers and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Unions called the walkout to protest plans to integrate European air traffic control across six countries - which workers fear will lead to losses of jobs and civil servant benefits.
Workers and unions say they are digging in to protect the European social safety net from fraying and to keep austerity measures from sapping consumer demand and thus the economy.
"The dangers of pricing oneself out of a job have nowhere been more apparent than they are today," said Howard Wheeldon, a senior strategist at inter-dealer broker BGC Partners in London.
"The solution is ... for companies to be even more efficient and that of necessity means employing fewer staff," said Wheeldon. That's what managers at British Airways and Lufthansa are facing, he said.
Thousands of Lufthansa pilots resumed work Tuesday after suspending a strike over concerns that cheaper crews from the German carrier's smaller airlines in other countries could replace them one day. Big European carriers have been pummeled in recent years by high jet-fuel prices, competition from low-cost rivals and falling demand for first- and business-class tickets - where profit margins are higher.
"Cost pressure has always governed airlines," said Per-Ola Hellgren, an analyst at Germany's Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. "The pressure is much greater than in the past. The conditions were never really great and now they're worse than ever."
While airline workers face market pressures, the air traffic controllers are subject to a government push for efficiencies at a time of high state deficits and lackluster economic conditions.
Eric Heraud, a spokesman for the French state-run civil aviation agency DGAC, suggested the controllers are acting out of fear.
"This strike is a little bit disproportionate," because the French government is committed to keeping workplace protections, he said. Heraud said labor unions representing controllers in the five partner nations - Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland - all supported the integation plan.
The malaise about pending government cutbacks and efficiency-seeking extends beyond the air travel sector.
In Spain, labor unions have called protest rallies for Tuesday evening in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and other cities to protest a government plan to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 age as part of an austerity package. Greek unions are calling a wide-ranging strike for Wednesday to protest austerity measures aimed at getting the country out of a government debt crisis. The action is expected to ground flights, reduce medical service and close schools and government offices, while some private sector unions will also stay off work.
Transport labor unions in the Czech Republic were meeting Tuesday to decide whether to go on strike to protest taxation of their workers' benefits. The unions want parliament to change a new law on value added tax that took effect this year.
MyWay
French air traffic controllers walked off the job Tuesday just as Lufthansa pilots ended a strike and British Airways cabin crews voted to launch one of their own. Greek unions prepared to shut down much of their country Wednesday with wide-ranging strikes.
These workers - like those blockading the Athens stock market, and demonstrators angry at proposed delayed retirements in Spain - fear for their hard-earned comforts as European governments and companies tighten belts to stay solvent.
The walkouts are the latest signs of a broader unease about jobs and benefits, and what the future holds for a continent struggling to stay competitive on a global scale.
From Communist-backed protesters who blocked the Athens stock market Tuesday to labor unions angry at plans to require Spaniards to retire at 67 instead of 65, Europeans face the unsettling prospect of seeing some of the comforts and benefits won over the decades slip away.
Air traffic controllers walked off the job across France as a four-day strike began on Tuesday, testing the patience of would-be travelers and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Unions called the walkout to protest plans to integrate European air traffic control across six countries - which workers fear will lead to losses of jobs and civil servant benefits.
Workers and unions say they are digging in to protect the European social safety net from fraying and to keep austerity measures from sapping consumer demand and thus the economy.
"The dangers of pricing oneself out of a job have nowhere been more apparent than they are today," said Howard Wheeldon, a senior strategist at inter-dealer broker BGC Partners in London.
"The solution is ... for companies to be even more efficient and that of necessity means employing fewer staff," said Wheeldon. That's what managers at British Airways and Lufthansa are facing, he said.
Thousands of Lufthansa pilots resumed work Tuesday after suspending a strike over concerns that cheaper crews from the German carrier's smaller airlines in other countries could replace them one day. Big European carriers have been pummeled in recent years by high jet-fuel prices, competition from low-cost rivals and falling demand for first- and business-class tickets - where profit margins are higher.
"Cost pressure has always governed airlines," said Per-Ola Hellgren, an analyst at Germany's Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. "The pressure is much greater than in the past. The conditions were never really great and now they're worse than ever."
While airline workers face market pressures, the air traffic controllers are subject to a government push for efficiencies at a time of high state deficits and lackluster economic conditions.
Eric Heraud, a spokesman for the French state-run civil aviation agency DGAC, suggested the controllers are acting out of fear.
"This strike is a little bit disproportionate," because the French government is committed to keeping workplace protections, he said. Heraud said labor unions representing controllers in the five partner nations - Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland - all supported the integation plan.
The malaise about pending government cutbacks and efficiency-seeking extends beyond the air travel sector.
In Spain, labor unions have called protest rallies for Tuesday evening in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and other cities to protest a government plan to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 age as part of an austerity package. Greek unions are calling a wide-ranging strike for Wednesday to protest austerity measures aimed at getting the country out of a government debt crisis. The action is expected to ground flights, reduce medical service and close schools and government offices, while some private sector unions will also stay off work.
Transport labor unions in the Czech Republic were meeting Tuesday to decide whether to go on strike to protest taxation of their workers' benefits. The unions want parliament to change a new law on value added tax that took effect this year.
MyWay
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