EUROPEAN DIARY:THEY TRAVELLED in their thousands from all across Europe to Slovenia's picturesque capital Ljubljana to protest against low pay, corporate greed and rising prices.
Old men with their best working days behind them clutched banners declaring that "Decent work + Decent wages = Decent Living" while the younger generation of trade unionists blew hard on whistles and shouted slogans arguing for sanctions to be imposed on tax havens.
The police estimated there were 10,000 protesters, while the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which organised the "march on Ljubljana", said there were 35,000.
Whatever their overall numbers, they all had a simple message for the EU finance ministers and central bankers meeting a few kilometres away in Brdo: wages must go up.
"We only want higher wages, the inflation we can't stop," Elmer Zubrovic, a worker in Ljubljana, who took part in the protest with trade unionists from 30 European countries told journalists. Evidence that workers are feeling the pinch from rapidly rising prices is clear in Slovenia, the current holder of the EU's six-month presidency. Last month the national statistics office reported that annual inflation had jumped from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent in March, primarily driven by continuing increases in food and oil prices.
More expensive clothing and footwear also helped to propel Slovenia's inflation to the highest rate among the 15 EU states that use the euro currency.
"Families with children are taking home just €300 per month. They can't cope with the increase in food prices and fuel prices, the basic goods that people need to live," said Neza, a 22-year-old worker at a jewellery stall at Ljubljana's central market.
"It is a disgrace because many people in Slovenia are getting rich, particularly company owners."
ETUC head John Monks delivered a similar message to protesters and the EU finance chiefs, whom he urged to stop following the mantra of wage restraint.
"We do not tolerate declining pay, we do not tolerate declining shares, we are not going to tolerate the rise and rise of the super-rich, the casino capitalists, who have taken so much out of our societies and given practically nothing back, leaving societies weak," he said.
Jerzy Langer, a senior trade union member from Poland who made the trip to Ljubljana, accused politicians of falsely accusing workers of not being efficient enough.
"We want a fair share of the results of the economic growth in Poland, which is even bigger than economists expected, through increased wages for all sectors and increased pensions," he told journalists.
The gap between the rich and poor in Slovenia has rocketed since independence in 1991 and its transition to a market economy.
The Slovenia Times noted last week that the average gross salary for people sitting on the management boards of their firms is €145,848 while the average gross salary is just under €15,000.
But trade unionists complain that the rising gap between rich and poor is not just a phenomenon in new member states in transition from communism but a factor across the whole EU.
Last year's OECD annual economic outlook concurs. It pointed to a "remarkable" fall in the share of wages of national income in OECD member countries in the past couple of decades.
Wages in the 15 wealthier European states have fallen 13 per cent as a share of GDP in the past 30 years and this trend is replicated in Japan (25 per cent) and the US (7 per cent).
The report concludes that globalisation has reduced the bargaining power of unskilled workers and pushed up inequality in many western countries.
The prospect of "offshoring" to cheaper locations has increased the vulnerability of jobs and wages in developed countries.
When you add to this mix rapidly rising basic food prices - world rice prices have increased from $580 to $850 a tonne in the past few weeks and over the last year more than doubled - unrest is growing among Europe's workers as they see their purchasing power eroded.
But will trade unions' call for higher wages be heard?
About 25km away from Ljubljana at the luxury resort of Brdo, once owned by former communist dictator Josip Broz Tito, the EU's financial elite had other ideas.
Chairman of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, warned about the "incredible increase" in inflation in the eurozone, which at 3.5 per cent is at its highest level for 16 years. Asked about the protest in Ljubljana, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said keeping a lid on labour costs would be "absolutely decisive" in fighting inflation. He also explicitly warned other European governments not to copy a recent 5 per cent pay rise awarded to German public sector employees in 2008.
Given these comments, workers will clearly have to fight hard to get a raise this year as the spectre of cheaper offshore locations refuses to go away in an era of globalisation.