Poland: Mass anti-government rally against labor law changes

Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through Warsaw in the last of four days of Polish protests against proposed labor law changes.

The protesters demanded a higher minimum wage, greater job security and the repeal of a law rai

sing the retirement age to 67.

Many carried banners calling for Prime Minister Donald Tusk to resign.

The ruling centre-right coalition’s popularity has plummeted to its lowest level since Donald Tusk took power in 2007.

The rally was one of the largest in Poland in recent years, bringing together people from both the right and the left of the political spectrum.

Organizers of the march said about 120,000 people participated, while city authorities put the figure at 100,000.

Protesters waved flags and blew whistles as they marched through the streets of the capital.

Some held banners saying “We are Coming to Get You” and “Tusk’s government Must Go”.

“We’re becoming slaves in our own country,” said Marek Duda, the leader of the right-of-centre Solidarity Union.

The rally was not about austerity, Poland being the only country in the European Union to have avoided a recession since the crisis began.

However, the economy is just coming out of its worst slump in years, and the protesters say it still lags behind its neighbors to the west.