blockades

The residents of Lefkimi in the south of Corfu island in greece are opposed to the construction of an Open Garbage-Dump (XYTA) near their town. The residents claimed that their marginalised, underdeveloped area known for its left-wing tradition and defience was being used as a refuse for the tourist-industry produced garbage of the north.

The teachers' strike has various demands, although it's mostly calling for the freedom for all political prisoners, an end to the arrest orders and ongoing intimidation by the judicial authorities against the movement, new elections within the SNTE, and the handing over of all Oaxacan schools controlled by the pro-government Sección 59.

Sixty-seven vessels including thirty-nine tankers stranded at the harbor's entrance. Government officials, port managers and union representatives are yet to tally the costs of the strike. A 17-day walkout last year in Marseille alone cost Manutention Generale Mediterraneenne, the port's biggest cargo- handler, €1.5 million ($2.4 million).

The mobilisation was organised by a workers committee, constituted independently from union membership. 99% of workers adhered to the strike, which was loosened on Monday 14th April when workers decided to only block gates for goods in an attempt to force the factory to a halt.

The increasing organisation of illegal immigrants within the syndicalist union SAC have lead to more and more blockades to force the payment of unpaid wages, mainly from employment agencies in the restaurant, cleaning, hotel and building industry. Millions Kronor in unpaid wages have been have been won by the SAC.

Air traffic controllers in Ireland have voted for 24-hour strikes this Thursday after several weeks of unofficial overtime ban. The strike, organised by the Balpa union, is likely to ground flights at all three airports.

Michelin - Workers at the factory in Toul (Meurthe et Moselle) began strike action after plans were announced to close it down. As well as occupying and blockading the plant with pickets of burning tyres the 826 workers also confined two managers to their offices during the four-day strike.

Workers at the hypermarket have been on strike since February the first.

The Grand Littoral branch of Carrefour is the only one in the country to have continued action after the national one-day retail strike. As a result Grand Littoral has been entirely closed for nine of the last eleven days.