Poles go on strike

Around 100,000 miners, transport workers and school and medical staff are taking part in a general strike in the south-Polish industrial region of Silesia, Voice of Warsaw reports.

The walkout has already disrupted train service in all of the country’s southern regions, canceled classes at hundreds of schools and slowed down work at local hospitals.

The strikers demand tax breaks for enterprises forced to suspend work, recompense firms hard hit by the country’s pledge to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, and also protest against a proposed education and healthcare reform calling for significant cuts in state subsidies for schools and hospitals.