International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Their Security, Our Poverty: Militarization and the New Code of Labour in Lithuania

2016-08-12T15:59:59Z

In the last months the Lithuanian media has been rife with debates about the new labour legislation proposed for parliamentary vote on June 23. Not very different from the French reform proposals, and pushing for further deregularization of the labour market, the code has sparked a series of protests and actions throughout the country. Representatives of the trade unions protested yesterday in Vilnius, expressing their intention to continue the demonstrations the following week, while activists from Kaunas have occupied one of the main squares of the city. The occupation is still continuing. Published first on www.locomotive.press this article by Noah Brehmer tries to make sense of the new legislation, integrating it into the larger context of Lithuanian post-socialist neoliberalism.

- IV499 - August 2016 / Lithuania

We are not for sale

2016-08-12T08:17:04Z

On June 16th the Lithuanian parliament was supposed to vote for the so called New Social Model: a neo-liberal assault involving severe labor code liberalization, criminalization of single-motherhood (you will only receive child's allowance if married), â€˜income' tax imposed on unemployment benefits, etc, etc. On June 15th a demonstration in opposition to the new legislation led to the occupation of a park in Kaunas. We have held the park for two nights now and so far we have been able to defend ourselves against the police with the help of a quite broad public support. Our protests and occupation against the labor code has been unfolding within a broader social movement called “Gyvenimas Per Brangus” (Life is to Expensive).

- News from around the world / Lithuania

Setback for social democrats

2004-10-01T00:00:00Z

A new party which calls itself a “Labour” party, created in autumn 2003 by an entrepreneur who made his fortune in canning, topped the polls at the European elections, beating the social democratic party of Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, the conservative party of Vyatautas Landsbergis and the established liberal parties.

- IV360/1 - Autumn 2004 / Lithuania