Revolting Europe
equality
How the public sector is the answer to Italy’s economic crisis and army of graduate unemployed
What would happen to Italy if you decided to recruit eight hundred thousand to one million young and qualified people into public service, asks Maria Luisa Bianco An economy cannot function well without a State that functions well. Since the recovery of the country requires a boost in the efficiency of the public administration, the failure of … Continue reading
Fast Facts: Gender Social Inequality and Austerity in Europe
Europe’s austerity fetish and longer term neo-liberal reforms promoted by Big Business, Governments and the EU Commission hurt women disproportionately. Here’s a few facts to illustrate the point. Europe wide The gender pay gap is around 16% It ranges from more than a quarter (27%) in Estonia to around a fiftieth (2%) in Slovenia. … Continue reading
They want us poor, silenced and straight
Spain’s government wants to impose a model of society, not only at the service of capital, but sexist and homophobic to boot, argues Esther Vivas The governing Popular Party (PP) is on a crusade – not only against fundamental rights such as health, education, housing, work, but also against sexual and reproductive freedoms. The PP … Continue reading
Why French anti-fascists took to the streets this weekend
Thousands marched in Paris and other cities in France this weekend to protest against violence by far right groups which claimed the life of Clement Meric, a student union and anti-fascist activist. Below is a joint statement by the organisers and supporters of the demonstrations: Fascism kills. Together, we can fight it! On 5 June, right-wing militants … Continue reading
Why Spain’s feminists will be joining the Europe-wide protests
Spain’s Marea Violeta, or Purple Tide of feminists will be joining Wednesday’s general strike and European protests against austerity to express their opposition to cuts hitting women. The right wing administration of Mariano Rajoy has axed 24% off the budget promoting policies for equality, triple the average cuts to government departments. It has also reduced … Continue reading
Monti attacks the weak
By Michele Azzu Cuts to the disabled and other dependents are the most striking case. But all the actions of the Italian government in social policy resemble the wrath of God. They are policies that make us a country that is not only more unjust, but poorer. For a week 70 severely disabled members of … Continue reading
The impact of austerity measures on women in Europe
Debt, a Trojan horse for an unprecedented social war against the peoples of Europe, is not neutral from the point of view of gender. The austerity measures imposed in its name are gender-determined, both in their characteristics and their effects, explains Christine Vanden Daelen. Read the article on the Committee for the Abolition of Third World … Continue reading
French feminists join campaign against EU Fiscal Compact
French feminists have joined a growing campaign against a new EU treaty arguing that women would be in the frontline of a scary new world of ‘permanent austerity’ . The Fiscal Compact, set to be tabled for a vote in the National Assembly in October, would threaten women’s rights and ‘exacerbate gender inequalities’ as cuts … Continue reading
Another Road for Europe – An Appeal
Europe is in crisis because it has been hijacked by neoliberalism and finance. In the last twenty years – with a persistent democratic deficit – the meaning of the European Union has increasingly been reduced to a narrow view of the single market and the single currency, leading to liberalisations and speculative bubbles, loss of … Continue reading
France: Women’s rights and the return of the Left
Socialist Prime Minister Ayrault’s government marks the return of the Ministry for Women’s Rights in France. Will this improve gender equality? Marie-Pierre Martinet, secretary general of the French Movement for Family Planning, a “very demanding partner”, will be keeping an eye on the situation. Read more in Humanite
Closing gender pay gap requires tougher sanctions and end to austerity
‘Women earn 16.4% less than men and the gender pay gap is getting worse despite legislation at national and international level,’ Portuguese GUE/NGL MEP Inês Zuber told MEPs Thursday in a debate on equal pay. Zuber pointed to collective bargaining rights as one of the best ways to protect women from wage discrimination. ‘Sanctions on … Continue reading
Fresh protests in Catalonia as austerity threatens disabled workers
Thousands of people participated in a protest Saturday in Barcelona against a 50% cut in public funding that encourages the employment of disabled people. The event, organized by disability rights’ campaign groups, was supported by almost all Catalan political parties and trade unions, and even included Minister for Social Welfare and Family, Josep Lluís Cleries, … Continue reading
If not now, when? On Italy’s thriving feminist movement
A year after the huge demonstration against the Berlusconi government, Italy’s women’s movement is thriving. On February 13 last year 1.5 million women flooded the streets and squares of 230 cities across Italy to demand respect by the political elite and above all by billionaire premier Silvio Berlusconi. The mobilisation was a first. It had … Continue reading
French president targets the unemployed, immigrants and homosexuals
Sarkozy puts the final reactionary and anti-social polish on his candidature. Humanite. More
Italy’s women are getting organised
By Tom Gill On February 13 Italian women took the political establishment by surprise when they staged mass nationwide protests for dignity and respect. A million donne and their male supporters succeeded, for a day, in highlighting how far their country – once with a thriving feminist movement and now with a prime minister facing charges of … Continue reading
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