Workers of Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC) had been on an indefinite strike since June in protest of the government's plan to privatize the state-owned company. The strikers belonging to Independent Union of Telephone Employees and Independent Brotherhood of Telephone Employees opposed the sale of PRTC to US based GTE Corporation and have vowed to continue the struggle until the sale is stopped.

It is expected that the workers' strike shall culminate in a bigger coordinated mass action that will also involve the participation of workers in the banking, commerce, tourism and manufacturing industry and other civic and women organizations who also rejected the privatization of PRTC.

SAMWU MARCH TO OPPOSE THE PRIVATIZATION OF EMERGENCY SERVICES

South African Municipal Workers (SAMWU) expressed their opposition to the sale of Johannesburg ambulance services via a march of over a thousand members last June.

In a statement, the union said that the budgetary allocation for ambulance services have been in constant decline since three years ago because of intentions to privatize it. A mere R4.6 M has been allotted for it. Since then the services has gone from bad to worse while the South African Council has spent a whopping R32 million to non-essential items such as Mayor's personal allowances, furniture and consultants fee.

SAMWU is calling upon the Council to block the sale and instead re-prioritize its budget so that more money is made available to extend the service to the disadvantaged communities that need it most.

VILNIUS SAYS NO TO PRIVATIZED WATER

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - The City Council of Lithuania decided in May to keep its water and sanitation services under municipal control instead of privatizing it. The plan to privatize came after five years of intensive lobbying and pressure from the French Multinational Suez-Lyonnaise (formerly Lyonnaise des Eaux).

The Council instead decided to set up a special development fund for the water and sanitation services. Water management experts in the City's water department, who advised that this was preferable to privatization, prepared the development program.

The decision of the Council was a product of a lengthy campaign by local trade unions and other organizations against privatization.

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