Garbage strikes and retirement reform
The principle of a strike is noble: fighting for better work conditions by stepping off the job and shaking up the routine, thereby forcing employers to give way. But for those of us not directly affected, when we find our routines shaken up by the protests, our support of this principle may be put to the test. Here in Paris, garbage collectors have been on strike since March 7. They are striking for higher wages but also as part of much wider strikes and demonstrations against a recently passed law that concerns retirement benefits . I myself have no opinion on the new retirement law. I am familiar with social security and retirement benefits in the US and Turkey, but not the program here in France, which seems incredibly complex . Since I don't receive French retirement benefits, never having worked here, I have no motivation to find out what the details are – apart from obtaining some understanding about why people are so worked up over what seems from the outside ...