Union Workers Turn Out in Droves for Protest in Tallinn
The anti-ACTA rally's claimed record for largest protest since the Singing Revolution ended up lasting only a week, as several thousand workers represented by unions gathered in Tallinn on February 18.
The turnout at the march, the ranks of which were swelled with workers bussed in from cities in the northeast, was larger than the anti-ACTA protests the week before.
Some of the themes overlapped, as the protest was held primarily against what unions see as a overbearing attitude from the government.
Besides a litany of grievances over the strained relationship between the government and organized labor, the leaders of the union demonstration also cited teachers salary negotiations, criticism of higher educational reform and the ACTA issue as contributing to the climate of mistrust.
The rally, which was held in the city center, went calmly. Many of the participants were middle-aged or older, contrasting to the anti-ACTA protest last week, which voiced some of the same themes of perceived government arrogance, but which were youthful.
The primary demand made at the trade union demonstration was that unions' positions be considered, above all in amendments to the Employment Contracts Act.
There was a mixture of Estonian and Russian-language signs seen at the rally.
Central Confederation of Trade Unions head Harri Taliga addressed the meeting, noting that the government had also alienated employers when it took over the Unemployment Insurance Fund reserves, and painted the cabinet as out of touch.
"You don't pay a cent of your minister's salary to the Unemployment Insurance Fund. It is not your place to have a say in issues of employment relations, as you don't know what is going on in the everyday working world."
"The unions' proposals come from life itself," he said. "Listen to these messages, don't isolate yourself from everyday life with foil inside your hat," he added, referring to Prime Minister Andrus Ansip's charge that many anti-ACTA protesters were out of lockstep with reality.
The unions say they plan to hold additional rallies in other cities across Estonia in the weeks ahead.
Kristopher Rikken