Increase food costs. Rising fuel bills. Salaries that are not up to date. Inflation is robbing people’s wallets, causing a wave of protests and workers’ strikes around the world.
This week alone, there have been protests by political opposition in Pakistan, nurses in Zimbabwe, union workers in Belgium, railway workers in Britain, indigenous people in Ecuador, hundreds of American pilots and some European airline workers. The Sri Lankan prime minister announced an economic collapse on Wednesday after weeks of political turmoil.
Economists say the Russian war in Ukraine has boosted inflation, further raising energy prices and the prices of fertilizers, cereals and cooking oil as farmers struggle to grow and export crops to one of the world’s key agricultural regions.
As prices rise, inflation threatens to exacerbate inequalities and widen the gap between the billions of people struggling to cover their costs and those who are able to continue spending.
“We’re not all in this together,” said Matt Granger, head of inequality policy at Oxfam. “How many of the richest even know how much a loaf of bread costs?” They don’t really do it, they just absorb the prices. “
Oxfam calls on the Group of the 7 Leading Industrialized Nations, which is holding its annual summit this weekend in Germany, to provide debt relief for emerging economies and to tax corporations on excessive profits.
“It’s not just a crisis. This comes from the back of a horrific pandemic that has fueled growing inequality worldwide, ”Granger said. “I think we will see more protests.
The demonstrations attracted the attention of governments, who responded to rising consumer prices with support measures such as extended subsidies for utility bills and reductions in fuel taxes. This often offers little relief because energy markets are volatile. Central banks are trying to ease inflation by raising interest rates.
Meanwhile, striking workers are putting pressure on employers to enter into wage negotiations to keep pace with rising prices.
Eddie Dempsey, a senior official with the British Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, who nearly stopped trains in the UK on strike this week, said there would be more demands for wage increases in other sectors.
“It’s time for Britain to raise wages. “Wages have been falling for 30 years and corporate profits are going through the roof,” Dempsey said.
Last week, thousands of truck drivers in South Korea called off an eight-day strike that delayed deliveries as they called for minimum wage guarantees amid rising fuel prices. Months earlier, about 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) away, truck drivers in Spain went on strike to protest fuel prices.
The Peruvian government imposed a brief curfew after protests against fuel and food prices escalated into violence in April. Truckers and other transport workers also went on strike and blocked key highways.
Protests over the cost of living toppled the Sri Lankan prime minister last month. Middle-class families say they are forced to skip meals because of the island nation’s economic crisis, prompting them to consider leaving the country altogether.
The situation is particularly difficult for refugees and the poor in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Myanmar and Haiti, where fighting has forced people to flee their homes and rely on humanitarian organizations that are struggling to raise money on their own.
“How much for my kidney?” is the most asked question of one of the largest hospitals in Kenya. Kenya National Hospital reminded people on Facebook this week that the sale of human organs was illegal.
It is becoming more expensive for the middle class in Europe to travel to work and put food on the table.
“Increase our salaries. Now! “Chanted thousands of union workers in Brussels this week.
“I came here to protect citizens’ purchasing power because demonstration is the only way to make a difference,” protester Genevieve Cordier said. “We can’t handle it anymore. Even with two salaries … we both work and we can’t rise above the water. ”
In some countries, the combination of government corruption and mismanagement is at the root of economic turmoil, especially in politically blocked countries such as Lebanon and Iraq.
The protests reflect a sense of growing financial insecurity. Here’s how it played out in Africa:
– Health professionals in Zimbabwe went on strike this week after rejecting the government’s proposal for a 100% salary increase. The nurses claim that the offer is not close to the jump of 130%.
– Kenyans protested on the streets and online, as the price of food has jumped by 12% in the last year.
– One of the most powerful unions in Tunisia organized a national strike in the public sector last week. The North African country is facing a deteriorating economic crisis.
– Hundreds of activists this month protested against the rising cost of living in Burkina Faso. The UN World Food Program says the price of corn and millet has risen by more than 60 percent since last year, reaching 122 percent in some provinces.
“As for this cost of living, which continues to rise, we have realized that the authorities have betrayed the people,” said Isaac Porgo, president of the civil society coalition behind the protest in the West African country.
Protesters condemned the military junta, which ousted the democratically elected president in January, for raising wages while the population faced rising prices.
The International Monetary Fund says inflation will average about 6% in developed economies and nearly 9% in emerging and developing economies this year. Global economic growth is projected to slow by 40% to 3.6% this year and next. The IMF is urging governments to target support packages to those most in need so as not to cause a recession.
The delay comes as the COVID-19 pandemic still covers industries around the world, from manufacturing to tourism. Climate change and drought are affecting agricultural production in some countries, leading to export bans that are raising food prices even further.
Rising food prices are particularly painful in low-income countries, where 42% of household income is spent on food, said Peter Cheretti, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a food security consultant at risk.
“We will see more protests, probably wider and more angry, but I do not expect destabilizing or regime change protests,” he said as producers adjusted and governments approved subsidies.
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Associated Press authors Jill Lawless in London; Mednik himself in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Kara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya; and Mark Carlson of Brussels, Belgium, contributed to this report.
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