'Labour Day protests, strikes take over France, Italy, Netherlands', 1 May 2023

Labour Day protests and strikes have taken over France, Italy and the Netherlands, with workers and labour unions demanding better government policies to safeguard their rights and meet their wage demands...

In the French capital, police were pelted with projectiles, ride-sharing bicycles were torched and bus stops smashed up just as the union-led march got under way from the Place de la Republique...

In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also faced demonstrations from labour unions who called on her government to increase wages and reform the country’s tax policy.

Meloni’s government unveiled a labour package amid the protests on Monday, rolling back anti-poverty subsidies introduced four years ago...

Meloni’s government also made it easier for companies to hire on short-term contracts – which unions blast as keeping employees in precarious economic situations – while promising tax breaks to firms hiring people benefitting from the new inclusion cheques.

Labour Day protests also took over the Netherlands, which saw unions demanding higher wages...