Protests and strikes erupt across Europe as soaring inflation and cost of living lead to ‘winter of discontent’

Greek and Belgian workers walked off the job this week as protests unfolded across Europe to fend off soaring inflation-driven living costs in what some have called a ‘winter of discontent’ .

Workers in Greece staged a 24-hour general strike this week as thousands of protesters marched through Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki, prompting brief clashes with small groups of protesters breaking away from the group main and throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at police who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

The strike has disrupted services across the country, with ferries blocked in the port, interrupted connections to the Greek islands, public schools closed, public hospitals operating with reduced staff and most public transport paralyzed.

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A similar scene unfolded in Belgium, as traffic slowdowns were reported across the country after workers set up picket lines at supermarkets and malls to protest runaway inflation. and spikes in the energy bill due in part to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

More than 100,000 government workers could quit their jobs this winter in the UK in protest at cost of living hikes, according to The Sunand Reuters reported that drivers working for 12 UK train operators have announced they will strike on November 26.

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Metro strikers closed half of the Paris metro lines on Thursday, a national day of walkouts and protests by French train drivers, teachers and other public sector workers demanding that the government and employers raise salaries to keep up with inflation.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in France last month in a strike calling for wage increases to keep up with inflation which had reached 6.2%.

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Scotland’s main teachers’ union said on Thursday it had won an “overwhelming mandate” to strike with a major railway union and a union of postal workers, who are also threatening to strike this winter, the report reported. Financial Times.

Workers in Spain are also opposing the rising cost of living as truckers have called for an indefinite strike next Monday, News24 reported.

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Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets on Friday in a rally organized by the country’s two largest unions to protest against inflation and demand higher wages this winter to offset the rising cost of living.

Inflation hit a new high in October in the 19 countries that use the euro. Economic growth has also slowed ahead of what economists fear is a looming recession, largely due to higher prices sapping Europeans’ ability to spend.

Associated Press contributed to this report.