'March for an alternative' - Demonstration in London

London, 26/03/2011

Friends, brothers and sisters,

I am bringing to you all the warm & fraternal greetings of the European trade union confederation & the 60 million workers behind it.

In London today/ in Berlin, Brussels, Riga, Madrid last week, in Budapest soon, workers & their families citizens of Europe are marching the streets for an alternative.

You marched the streets & the European workers marched the streets of London with you for social justice & fairness.

You want, need & deserve jobs, good jobs.

You want, need & deserve good public services.

You want, need & deserve action for growth.

You want need & deserve equality, solidarity in a fair society.

This is why all of us have gathered here today.

Politicians tell us they need to cut. Cuts in public services, cuts in wages & so on!

We tell them: start with growth, not with cuts.

Cuts will bring misery not growth.

Privatisation, liberalisation will bring more inequalities.

Colleagues we will not let public sector in Europe destroyed.

People in Europe are asked to pay the price for the foolishness of financial markets.

They destroyed our economy & they are asking us to pick up theIR bill.

We will not allow this incredible injustice to happen.

Our message to politicians all over Europe is loud & clear:
We shall not let the rich become richer & the poor become poorer.
Money should be taken where it can be found in a robin hood tax for instance & fair taxation.

We will not let wages go down and CEOs receive millions in bonuses. Money should not come from your pocket, not from your wage bill.

Friends, Merci, danke schön, gracias, grazie mille, thank you for your strength & determination. Thank you for standing for your rights & beliefs.

Count on our support; Let us continue the march together.