Recession-Sparked European Social Unrest Arrives in Britain

[VOA双语] @V&c=8)8  
  2009年02月02日10:23   @ C|nc&E2s  
IIG9&F$G  
7 x'2  
Mbp7%^E"A  
With the recession biting and unemployment rates rising, Britain is the latest European country to experience social unrest. At issue in the U.K.; the practice of legally employing foreign European workers in certain sectors while some Britons remain unemployed. O9C&1A|lA  
F8S>Ld  
The economic strains that first appeared in the U.S. subprime market last year are now being measured in terms of growing social unrest here in Europe as people confront an uncertain future under the backdrop of growing unemployment. g<N;31:c\  
.* )e24`  
)bWopc  
Over just the past week, angry demonstrators have hit the streets of Iceland, Russia and France. ]"&](e6*  
N;`/>R4|I  
That unrest has now reached the shores of Britain. At an oil refinery on the eastern coast near the town of Grimsby, British workers are calling for a change of policy. hvGD`  
At issue, the legal employment there of hundred of Italian and Portuguese contractors while many Britons cannot find any work. Keeping abreast of developments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warns now is not the time for Europe to look inward. "There is an implicit protectionism I am afraid in what is happening at the moment and we have got to deal with this. What is happening now is that countries which have had foreign banks investing in them are seeing the withdrawal of capital. So, it is no accident that crises have been sparked in the eastern European countries in recent weeks because of the flight of capital and then the need to rely on the International Monetary Fund to protect them," he said. Gp{,v  
But the noisy discontent may only be starting. At least a dozen demonstrations were staged Friday across the country at energy plants in sympathy with the original protest.The national mediation service has moved in to talk with unions and employers here to try to calm the dispute before it gets out of hand.Gordon Brown maintains that international cooperation is key in solving such issues. "We should not retreat from the idea that we can solve these problems and still believe in the idea of an open, free market, flexible, inclusive and sustainable globalization," he said. \h"U+Bv7  
D4b-Y[/"  
But locals are demanding that Mr. Brown fulfills the promise he made two years ago when he championed the call for British jobs for British workers.英国经济衰退日益严重，失业率不断上升。英国成了出现大规模抗议的又一个欧洲国家。在英国，很多人对一些行业里雇主可以合法雇佣来自欧洲其他国家的外籍工人，而英国本国的工人却失业这种现象感到不满。 W=#AfPi$&  
E.Q]X]q  
去年最先在美国次级房屋贷款市场内出现的经济困境，现在已经传播到欧洲。很多国家得失业日益严重，人们对未来缺乏信心，对现状也越来越不满。 6`@b@Kd  
过去一个星期来，在冰岛、俄罗斯和法国，抗议者纷纷走上街头。
?j0yT@G  
眼下，这股潮流已经抵达英伦三岛。在英国东岸格里姆斯比城附近的一个炼油厂，抗议的英国工人要求政府对现有政策进行改革。 a'-u(Bw  
QtwQVOK  
这些人对数百名来自意大利和葡萄牙的外籍工人可以合法地被雇佣，而很多英国人却找不到工作非常不满。 p- a{6<h  
0,nz*UDk  
>.6|\{*sG  
英国首相布朗跟目前正在瑞士达沃斯举行的世界经济论坛保持一致，他提醒民众，对欧洲各国来说，当前绝不应当是闭关自守的时刻。他说：“从目前的局势来看，我担心保护主义正在抬头，而我们必须克服这种倾向。那些此前由外国银行投资的国家，现在纷纷面临资本撤出的现象；所以说，最近几个星期来，我们看到了外资回流给东欧一些国家造成危机、这些国家紧接着就需要依靠国际货币基金组织来保护他们。” D<m0G]Ht*  
@ 5^nrB  
但是，各种抗议和不满的声音可能才刚刚开始。上星期五，在英国各地，至少有十几家能源加工厂发起了抗议活动，人们纷纷对最初在格里姆斯比发生的抗议活动表示同情和支持。 {#ynN`tLyF  
+SR{FF  
|mP};&b  
英国国家调解部门目前已经到现场和工会及雇员们交谈，希望局势能够稳定下来，而不是进一步恶化。 F#>00b{Q  
\XPGA uEo  
e{7 \pQK  
英国首相布朗坚持说，国际间的合作对解决眼下的难关至关重要。他说：“我们应当坚信，这些问题会得到解决的。我们应当对自由开放的市场经济充满信心，对富有灵活性、包容性、以及可持续性的全球一体化经济，充满信心。” 4Wp5[(bg  
但是地方上的人都要求布朗首相兑现他两年前曾经做出的许诺，那就是，把英国的工作留给英国人来做。