March 9, 2018 - l'Européenne de Bruxelles

More than 5m join Spain’s ‘feminist strike’, unions say

March 9, 2018March 8, 2018 3275 views

Mayors of Madrid and Barcelona among supporters of walkout on International Women’s Day. More than 5 million workers have taken part in Spain’s first nationwide “feminist strike”, according to trade unions. The action, held to mark International Women’s Day, is intended to highlight sexual discrimination, domestic violence and the wage gap. On Thursday afternoon, the Workers’ Commissions and the Workers’ General Union said that 5.3 million people had participated in two-hour walkouts, describing the action as “an unprecedented strike in our country’s trade union movement”. The strike, which is being…

Carillion contracts deal fails, putting 2,500 jobs at risk

March 9, 2018March 8, 2018 3275 views

Canadian firm BGIS pulls out of planned takeover of outsourced government contracts. A Canadian firm has pulled out of a deal to buy a substantial number of public sector contracts from collapsed outsourcing firm Carillion, putting at risk 2,500 jobs that looked set to be saved. Real estate and facilities management company BGIS said last month it had agreed with the official receiver managing Carillion’s liquidation to buy contracts to provide services to hospitals, the education sector, justice, transport and emergency services. But in an unexpected announcement on Thursday, BGIS…

EU chiefs acting like gang leaders over Brexit threats, says Liam Fox

March 9, 2018March 8, 2018 3275 views

Trade secretary and DUP’s Arlene Foster criticise European leaders for plans to ‘punish’ UK. EU chiefs have been compared by Liam Fox and Arlene Foster to gang leaders who are “throwing threats of violence around” to get what they want on Brexit. During a charged series of speeches to the British Chambers of Commerce, Fox, the UK international trade secretary, and Foster, the Democratic Unionist party [DUP] leader, attacked the EU’s hardening stance on both trade and the Irish border. In a speech criticising the European commission’s “bad faith” on…