Strikes hit Uruguay as crisis worsens

URUGUAY: A spate of general strikes has hit Uruguay as the country's main trade union centers and workers protest the government's failed economic policies and the escalating crisis there. In a bid to halt the economic recession, which is in its fourth year, and to avoid contagion from neighbouring Argentina's on-going economic crisis, the Uruguayan government recently announced a decision to make cuts in public spending and last week closed banks in an attempt to stop people from withdrawing their savings. Marching workers have demanded an increase in wages and public spending as well as cash to prop up the country's faltering banking system. The recession in Uruguay has left a fourth of the population unable to meet basic food needs and pay bills. Unemployment is at 15.6 per cent of the workforce.