Business News
Slovak trade unions protest austerity measures
Oct 12, 2010, 17:30 GMT
Bratislava/Prague - Several thousand trade unionists marched through the Slovak capital Bratislava on Tuesday in protest of austerity measures planned by the country's centre-right government, Czech and Slovak media reported.
The protest was the latest in a string of strikes and demonstrations across Europe against spending cuts and public finance reforms aimed at lowering national budget deficits. It also followed earlier smaller protests in the Slovak cities of Zilina and Kosice.
In a bid to reduce Slovakia's shortfall to 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova's four- party cabinet plans to temporarily increase the value-added tax rate from 19 per cent to 20 per cent.
The Slovak budget deficit is expected to reach 7.8 per cent of GDP this year. The cabinet hopes to bring it below the European Union- required 3 per cent by 2013.
Slovakia, a European Union member since 2004, joined the eurozone in 2009.
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