300 trade union members from across workplaces all over Brighton and Hove marched through the city to join millions of workers demonstrating throughout Europe against brutal government cuts to jobs and services.
Police staff, bin workers, Connexions workers, job centre staff, nurses, teachers, care workers, nursery staff, lecturers, unemployed, firefighters, teaching assistants, students, pensioners and postal workers were among the many who took part in the protest organised by the local Unison, GMB, NUT, PCS and UCU branches as part of the Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition fightback.
In Spain 10 million workers on general strike took to the streets to make a stand against savage cuts to pay and pensions with trade union pickets and barricades controlling the streets in many cities. In Bruxelles, home of the European Parliament that is helping to force through the injustified attacks, 100,000 trade unionists joined a mass demonstration through the city. A general strike in Greece brought out nearly every trade union organisation against IMF-imposed instructions to attack the pay, pensions and working conditions of low paid public sector workers.
Workers from Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Ireland and France also staged similar protests against government cuts.
Workers and trade unions right across Europe are uniting, discussing and organising a powerful resistance to the neoliberal cuts agenda that is attempting to make the working class pay for an economic mess caused by capitalism's bankers and the rich.
Today's anti-cuts demonstration in Brighton added to the huge ripple of resistance that has spread across the continent to send a message of our strength of unity to the bosses and governments that we will fight to make them and the rich to pay for their crisis.
More upcoming trade union events in Brighton are being organised and details will be posted here.
For information about the fightback and to get involved visit the Brighton Stop the Cuts Facebook page or contact brightontradescouncil@gmail.com
Next action: Demonstrate against the Con-Dem government at the Tory party conference, Sunday October 3. Coach leaving Brighton 7.30 am at St Peter's Church, Richmond Place, Brighton. For tickets contact 07886 308520
