中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 Eight firemen posed in the nude in a Spanish town on Thursday to protest against sweeping new government austerity measures that include public sector wage cuts and tax increases. |
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Eight firemen posed in the nude in a Spanish town on Thursday to protest against sweeping new government austerity measures that include public sector wage cuts and tax increases. The firefighters emerged one by one from their fire station in the northern town of Mieres near Oviedo wearing just their black helmets and boots and lined up side by side against a wall with their backs to the assembled press. "With so many cuts we have been left naked," declared a banner on the wall above them. "Eight firefighters who show their ass are worth more than a protest through the streets against the cuts," said Javier Piedra, 41, one of the 16 members of the Mieres fire brigade. Spain's two main labour unions, the UGT and the CCOO, have planned demonstrations by public sector workers in 80 cities and towns later Thursday against the austerity measures. Numerous firefighters and police officers have turned out at smaller protests which have taken place daily since the government announced the latest measures on July 11. Among the new steps is the cutting of the Christmas bonus paid to civil servants, equivalent to a seven-percent reduction in annual pay, and a rise in sales tax that is likely to hit consumers. The loss of the bonus comes on top of another pay cut of an average of five percent in 2010, which was followed by a salary freeze. "We are protesting because they are reducing our salary and now they are getting rid of the Christmas bonus." Firefighters in Mieres earn an average of 1,500-1,550 euros ($1,840-1,900) a month, said Piedra. "Without taking into account the end of the Christmas bonus, our salary has declined by around 200 euros since the first cuts came into force in June 2010," he said. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government aims to save 65 billion euros with its latest austerity measures in order to lower Spain's public deficit. (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
上周四，八位西班牙消防員在西班牙一小鎮裸體抗議新政府的全面財政緊縮措施，其中包括公共部門減薪和增加稅收。 消防員們從他們位于米耶雷斯鎮的消防站中魚貫而出，渾身均只著黑色頭盔和皮靴，挨個排隊靠墻站好，屁股對著在此聚集的媒體。米耶雷斯鎮是西班牙北部小鎮，位于奧維耶多附近。 “如此削減，我們被減光了。”他們上方的一塊橫幅寫道。 現年41歲的哈維爾?皮德拉是米耶雷斯鎮消防隊16名消防員中的一位，他說：“八位消防員展示他們的屁股可比游街示威抗議削減勁爆得多。” 西班牙的兩大工會組織UGT和CCOO已經計劃組織80個城鎮公共部門的職工在周四晚些時候舉行示威游行，抗議財政緊縮措施。 自從新政府7月11日頒布最新政策措施以來，很多消防員和警察都出現在每天都在發生的眾多小型抗議活動中。 其中一項新措施要求削減公務員的圣誕節獎金，這等于削減了其年收入的7%，除此之外消費者們可能還會遭遇營業稅上漲。 早在2010年人們的平均工資就已經被削減了5%，隨之而來的便是工資凍結，現在又要失去圣誕節獎金。 “我們要抗議，因為他們已經在減少我們的工資，現在又想砍掉圣誕獎金。” 皮德拉說，米耶雷斯鎮消防員的平均月薪是1500歐元到1550歐元（合1840美元到1900美元）。 他說：“就算不考慮圣誕節獎金縮水，我們的薪水從2010年6月首次減薪以來也已經減少了200歐元。” 馬里亞諾?拉霍伊首相領導的保守黨政府意圖通過其最新的財政緊縮措施節省650億歐元，以降低西班牙的公共赤字。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：Julie） |
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Vocabulary: sweeping: 全面的 |
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