French gov't to cut welfare
A number of unions in France have called a one-day
national strike on November 28 in response to government
proposals to cut social welfare programs. On November 15 the
National Assembly approved measures proposed by Prime
Minister Alain Juppé on spending cuts to eliminate a $51
billion budget deficit, which capitalist politicians
attribute to social programs. The government has chosen to
attack social benefits as it tries to lower the public
deficit below 3 percent of the gross domestic product, a
precondition for joining the European Monetary Union,
planned for 1999.
Included in the plans are major cuts in social security and health-care spending, taxes and means testing for health insurance, and an increase in the number of years workers must make pension contributions. In addition, a one-half percent levy on nearly all income was put in place for 13 years to cover previous debts.
In addition to the union-called demonstrations, student sit-ins and protests are occurring in a number of universities to demand increased government financial assistance and teachers. One student union has called for a "national day of action" on November 21.
German union to curb demands
The IG Metall union agreed at its annual congress to
refrain from seeking better wages for its members in hopes
of creating more jobs. Klaus Zwickel, the union's president,
said IG Metall would only seek to keep wages in line with
inflation. The federation would ask in exchange that
employers create 300,000 jobs in three years and return
30,000 long-term unemployed to the workplace.
Joblessness currently stands at 9.4 percent in Germany. Investments by German companies outside the country have doubled in the first half of this year compared to 1994. Membership in IG Metall has dropped an average of 10,000 members a month since 1992, down to 2.9 million.
Walesa loses election in Poland
Preliminary results from Poland's presidential
elections, which took place November 19, showed that
President Lech Walesa lost his bid for re-election.
Aleksander Kwasniewski, candidate of the Left Democratic
Alliance - successor of the former ruling Communist
Party - appeared to be the winner with 51.4 percent of the
vote. During his re-election effort, Walesa campaigned
fervently for joining the European Union and NATO,
accelerating Poland's attempted integration into the world
capitalist market, and maintaining the ban on abortion. He
irked even some of his backers when he told a journalist who
asked him about his opposition to abortion, "If abortion had
been legal, you would probably have gone down the drain."
Kwasniewski presented himself as a social democrat with economic and foreign policy proposals similar to Walesa. His Left Democratic Alliance had won control of parliament in elections two years ago. In the last 18 months former Communist Parties have won parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Slovakia bans other languages
The Slovak parliament passed a law November 15 banning
other languages. The ban will seriously affect Hungarians,
who make up more than 10 percent of Slovakia's population of
5.5 million.
The law stipulates that all public servants must speak Slovak and all public ceremonies except weddings must be done in that language. All signs, advertisements, and announcements must be made in "the state language." Penalties include fines up to $2,000 for individuals and $20,000 for businesses in a country where the average yearly wage is less than $4,000.
Palestinians cheer Israeli pullout
Thousands of Palestinians turned out to celebrate the
end of the Israeli military occupation of the city of Jenin
in the West Bank on November 19, a few days after the troops
pulled out of the city. Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) head Yasir Arafat addressed the cheering crowd. Arafat
also chaired a meeting of Jenin's new self-rule council.
Five more cities are scheduled to be handed over from
Israeli to Palestinian control before late January, when
elections for a Palestinian self-rule authority are
scheduled.
Meanwhile, supporters of Hamas in Gaza announced they will form a political party to participate in the elections. They plan to call the party Salvation, or National Islamic Party, which will run on a platform centered on political opposition to the Israel-PLO accords.
Egyptian embassy bombed
A suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden truck into the
gate of the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad, the capital of
Pakistan, on November 19. The explosion killed 15 people,
including an Egyptian diplomat, and wounded 59 others. Three
groups claimed responsibility, including the Islamic Group,
which, according to Cairo, has led a three-and-a-half-year
campaign of terrorist attacks to overturn the regime of
President Hosni Mubarak.
Press reports in Pakistan allege that a number of Egyptians opposed to the Mubarak regime live in that country. Last year, the two regimes signed an extradition agreement. Since then, Islamabad has deported a number of Egyptian nationals.
Dock, mine strikes in Australia
A five-day national dockworkers' strike began November
17, called by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
The mining unions, meanwhile, launched a two-day work
stoppage at the CRA group's coal mines and announced that
all the country's coal mines would be shut down for seven
days beginning November 21. Workers are protesting a push by
the companies to change from union-negotiated "award" wage
payments to individual contracts with workers. A number of
workers said they were being discriminated against under the
new system.
Last-minute meetings between the union and the company failed to resolve the conflict. An ACTU spokesperson said the issue concerned "basic principles we've been stressing all along - equal pay for work of equal value and non- discrimination among workers."
Roh Tae Woo arrested
The South Korean government arrested former president
Roh Tae Woo November 16 and charged him with accepting
multimillion-dollar bribes. In October Roh admitted he had
amassed a $650 million slush fund while he was president
from 1988 to 1993. He initially claimed the funds came from
political contributions, but investigators turned up
evidence of widespread bribery involving South Korea's
largest business conglomerates.
Bourgeois opposition leader Kim Dae Jung admitted he received $2.5 million from Roh during his unsuccessful 1992 presidential campaign. He claimed Kim Young Sam, who won the election, received much more money from Roh. The president denied getting funds from Roh. Prosecutors have said a number of business executives may face charges. As he was being taken to prison, Roh pleaded for leniency for the businessmen, saying he accepted full responsibility.
- DEREK BRACEY