European Day of action: Statement of Left MEPs from GUE/NGL on 29/9

international | worker & community struggles and protests | other press Saturday September 11, 2010 15:58 by pat c

Statement of the Left MEPs from GUE/NGL. Full text at link.

"Support European Day of Action against Austerity - 29 September should be day of active struggle, protests and strikes across Europe"

Statement of Left MEPs

We warmly welcome the initiative by the European Trade Union Confederation to launch 29 September as a European Day of Action around the slogan: “No to austerity – Priority for jobs and growth!”. As representatives of Left parties across Europe, we commit to enthusiastically build for and participate in the actions and demonstrations across Europe on that date.

It is vital that September 29 should not be a one-off demonstration in Brussels, but should be a day of active struggle, with mass protests and strikes across Europe. The example of the Spanish union confederation in calling for a general strike on that date should be followed by unions in other countries where the conditions exist for general strikes.

* Build 29 September as a powerful Day of Action across Europe with strikes and mass demonstrations
* For united action of working people across Europe to defeat the austerity measures – build for further European wide action, including industrial action.
* Workers, pensioners, the unemployed, students, youth and those socially excluded must not pay for the crisis - Make the super rich and bankers pay
* No to cutbacks, wage cuts, unemployment, increases in the retirement age and privatisation of public services
* End the dictatorship of the financial markets, credit ratings institutions and the IMF
* Stop the bailouts of the banks - nationalise the banks and financial institutions in the interests of working people

Signed by

* Joe Higgins MEP (Socialist Party - Ireland)
* Alfred Rubiks MEP (Latvia)
* Miguel Portas MEP (Left Bloc - Portugal)
* Marisa Matias MEP (Left Bloc - Portugal)
* Jürgen Klute MEP (Die Linke - Germany)
* Sabine Lösing MEP (Die Linke - Germany)
* Cornelia Ernst MEP (Die Linke - Germany)
* Sabine Wils MEP (Die Linke - Germany)
* Gabi Zimmer MEP (Die Linke - Germany)
* Helmut Scholz MEP (Die Linke - Germany)
* Nikolaos Chountis MEP (Syriza - Greece)
* Eva-Britt Svensson MEP (Left Party - Sweden)
* Willy Meyer MEP (United Left - Spain)