Previewing Greek's first General Strike of 2013 ( this should be general strike number 20 or so overall ) as we await the first general strike to hit France.....

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-19/previewing-tomorrows-first-greek-general-strike-2013

Previewing Tomorrow's First Greek General Strike Of 2013

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/19/2013 23:20 -0500

• Greece
 
• Gross Domestic Product
 
• headlines
 
• Recession

Today was one of those rare days when there were no media reports describing in gruesome detail what another 24 hours in the complete social de-evolution of Greece looks like. The reason for that is that the Greek media and journalists decided to hold their first all day general strike today, which in turn happens to be in advance of tomorrow's first for 2013 general Greek strike. The journalists’ union ESIEA decided to hold the strike in solidarity with the 24-hour action called by GSEE and ADEDY, but wanted to ensure there was media coverage of the protest planned for Wednesday. So what will happen tomorrow? To a big extent, just more of the same: "State services will grind to a halt Wednesday and public transport will be disrupted in Athens as workers join a 24-hour general strike called by the country’s two main labor unions." And whereas the neo-(or paleo) Keynesians out there can spin any natural disaster as GDP accretive, not even they can transform the complete stop of all "constructive" activity as somehow benefiting Greek GDP. Furthermore, with no improvements in the Greek macroeconomic picture whatsoever, one can be assured that tomorrow's general strike is merely the first of many, now that the weather is warm enough to hold posters and slogans in broad daylight.

From Ekathimerini:

Transport workers will run a limited service Wednesday so that people can attend protest rallies planned for the city center. Commuters will get a taste of the upheaval from Tuesday when trolley bus employees are to stage a five-hour walkout from 11 a.m. On Wednesday, buses and trolley buses will run between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Staff on the Athens metro, tram and the Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) are to decide Tuesday on Wednesday’s action.

There will be no trains running nor ferries sailing Wednesday as employees of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) and the country’s seamen walk off the job. The Proastiakos suburban railway will also halt its services Wednesday.

As is usual on general strike days, tax offices and municipal services will be closed to the public as employees are expected to join the action en masse. Hospitals will be operating on skeleton staff and schools will close as doctors and teachers join the action.

Lawyers, engineers and construction workers, whose sector has been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis, are expected to join the action Wednesday too.

The BBC adds:

Union leaders say they are angry at the job cuts and tax rises being demanded by Greece's international lenders.

"The (strike) is our answer to the dead-end policies that have squeezed the life out of workers, impoverished society and plunged the economy into recession and crisis," the private sector union GSEE said in a statement.

"Our struggle will continue for as long as these policies are implemented," it said.

The union is organising the walkout with public sector union Adedy.

Several marches are due to culminate in protests outside parliament in Syntagma square, Athens, where violent clashes have broken out on previous occasions.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's eight-month-old government has taken a tough line on strikers, invoking emergency law twice this year to order seamen and metro staff back to work.

But despite such measures, strikes have recently picked up.

A one-day visit by French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday went largely unreported because Greek journalists downed tools.

Our correspondent says more than 20 general strikes since the crisis erupted have failed to halt austerity - and this one is unlikely to be any different.

Well they sure can keep on trying. And since the journalists prudently striked (or is that stroke?) preemptively, tomorrow's protests will be widely covered, and should generate enough headlines to send the S&P500 at least another 10 points higher.

and........



http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/02/incredible-letter-from-ceo-of-titan-to.html

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 6:45 PM

Incredible Letter from CEO of Titan to France Minister of Industrial Renewal, Blasting French Unions and USA: "How Stupid Do You Think We Are?"

I like it when people speak their minds. I like it even more when they are correct and they blast government officials at the highest levels. And I especially like it when the person blasting government is a prominent person.

Thus I am pleased to report an incredible letter from the CEO of Titan to Arnaud Montebourg, Minister of Industrial Renewal of France, criticizing not only French unions but unions in the USA.

Via Google translate from Les Echos, please consider Incredible Email From the CEO of Titan to Montebourg.

"Les Echos" received a copy of the letter which the President of the American Titan told the Minister of Industrial Renewal why he threw in the towel on purchasing the Goodyear plant Amiens Nord, in a very direct style.

"How Stupid Do You Think We Are?"

Here are some excerpts I transcribed from an image of the letter posted on Les Echos.

 Dear Mr. Montebourg:

Goodyear tried for over four years to save part of the Amiens jobs that are some of the highest paid, but the French unions and French government did nothing but talk.

I have visited the factory a couple of times. The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three, and work for three. I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that's the French way!

The Chinese are shipping tires into France - really all over Europe - and yet you do nothing. In five years, Michelin won't be able to produce tire in France. France will lose its industrial business because government is more government.

Sir, your letter states you want Titan to start a discussion. How stupid do you think we are? Titan is the one with money and talent to produce tires. What does the crazy union have? It has the French government. The French farmer wants cheap tire. He does not care if the tires are from China or India and governments are subsidizing them. Your government doesn't care either. "We're French!"

The US government is not much better than the French. Titan had to pay millions to Washington lawyers to sue the Chinese tire companies because of their subsidizing. Titan won. The government collects the duties. We don't get the duties, the government does.

Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay less than one Euro per hour and ship all the tires France needs. You can keep the so-called workers. Titan has no interest in the Amien North factory.

Best regards,
Maurice M. Taylor, Jr.
Chairman and CEO

Morry "the Griz" Taylor

A quick internet search led me to Maurice Taylor

 Taylor was nicknamed "The Grizz" by Wall Street analysts for his tough negotiating style. Taylor has transformed Titan from a small wheel manufacturing business to a global producer of off-highway wheel and tire systems. Taylor has been in the wheel manufacturing business for over 30 years, and has worked with Titan in various sales, engineering and management positions. He attended Michigan Tech. Taylor served as president and CEO of the company from 1990 to 2005, when he became chairman and CEO.

In 1996, Taylor ran as a Republican candidate for President of the United States, campaigning to bring sound fiscal management and business know-how to Washington.

Further Reading

For further reading, please consider economically insane proposal by French president Francois Hollande "Make Layoffs So Expensive For Companies That It's Not Worth It"

Given that any clear-thinking person should quickly realize that if companies cannot fire workers they will be extremely reluctant to hire them in the first place, it should be no surprise to discover French Unemployment Highest in 14 Years (And It's Going to Get Much Worse).

In France, Government spending amounts to 55% of total domestic output. For discussion, please see Hollande's Honeymoon is Over; 54% of Voters Unhappy; Unions Promise "War" in September.

Please note that the French Labour Minister says France Totally Bankrupt

Finally, please consider Illusions of Stabilization.

I Expect things in France to get worse at an accelerated pace.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

and just how bad are things in the Uk ? 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9881606/Desperate-1701-fight-for-eight-Costa-jobs.html

But even they were surprised when 1,701 applications poured in. Some of the applicants included vastly over-qualified former retail managers, a dire indication of the troubled high street.

A Costa spokesman said managers were shocked at the response to the advertisements for three full-time and five part-time posts at the café, to open in Mapperley, Nottingham, on Friday. The jobs pay between £6.10 and £10 an hour. The unsuccessful applicants included senior retail managers with more than 15 years’ experience.

Several graduates also applied, apparently struggling to find suitable employment after leaving university.

The flood of applications came after high street chains including HMV, Clinton Cards, Comet and Jessops have been forced to call in administrators.

Employees from some of these stores were among the 1,701 hopefuls for the positions at Costa, which were first advertised in early December.

Sham Ramparia, Costa’s manager for the Midlands, said: “Many had a background in retail and some of them were senior retail managers at the likes of Comet and HMV with about 10 to 15 years of experience. Many applicants were hugely over-qualified.

“It seems to be a barometer of two things — the current market and the strength of our brand.

“We only listed the jobs advertisement on one website and put a sign up on the building while we were renovating it but the applications just came flooding in.

“I was amazed at the level of interest. It just shows how hard times are.”

The Trades Union Congress said the number of applicants was indicative of the current employment crisis.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said: “These figures show just how desperate people are for any kind of work. Ministers claim there are plenty of jobs out there but the reality is that there are far more people chasing those jobs.

“That’s why, rather than demonising unemployed people as scroungers, we need to get the economy growing and support them into work.”

One of the successful applicants was Steven Tomlinson, 25, who left his job at a milkshake and smoothie bar after the business went into administration. He said: “I have always loved coffee so I thought: why not go for it?”

A study has shown that about 3.7 million people had been made redundant since 2008, amounting to one in seven of all employees. Almost two thirds of those losing their jobs were men, with most redundancies reported in 2009.

However, the past two years have been the worst for women losing their positions, according to The Jobs Economist consultancy. Unemployment figures released last month showed a 37,000 fall in the quarter to November to 2.49  million.