Today in labour history

Today in Labour History

1908 France 2 dead and 9 injured among workers in the Vigneux-sur-Seine sand pits, on strike for a month when the gendarmes used their weapons against the strike committee installed at the Hôtel-restaurant du Progrès.

1919 France 150,000 metal workers and 20,000 public transport workers strike. The strike is a protest over a wage freeze in effect since the start of the war in 1914, despite high inflation. The strikers also demand work for returned soldiers.

1936 Belgium A spontaneous strike by dockers in Antwerp ignited a general strike which lasts 3 weeks. 500,000 workers joined the walkout: miners, steelworkers, transport, public services and private companies.

1944 France The C.G.T. calls on its activists to place themselves resolutely "at the head of the masses for the launching and the conduct of the general strike". The strike is to support the D-Day invasion.

1975 France More than 100 women sex workers occupy the Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon to to draw attention to their inhumane working conditions and police harassment. The occupation ended on 10 June 1975, when the women were removed by the police.[more]

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