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<v Speaker 1>On This Day and Working Class History. The sixteenth January

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<v Speaker 1>and on the sixteenth of January twenty eighteen, a series

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<v Speaker 1>of strikes began in Benin against government plans to ban

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<v Speaker 1>strikes by public sector workers. The move came as the

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<v Speaker 1>state attempted to crack down on protests against free market

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<v Speaker 1>education and health reforms. First, workers in hospitals, schools, and

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<v Speaker 1>courts walked out for three days. Then on the nineteenth

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<v Speaker 1>of January, Bernin's Constitutional Court declared part of the law

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<v Speaker 1>unconstitutional and the strikes spread. The government responded by cutting

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<v Speaker 1>the pay of strikers, but the strikes continued, and eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>in late March, the government reversed course on the pay cuts.

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<v Speaker 1>From early May, the strikes began to wind down, and

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<v Speaker 1>most unions had returned to work by the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the month. The sources maps and all of our anniversaries

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<v Speaker 1>each day. Check out the on This Day's section of

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<v Speaker 1>our stories at at stories stopworkingclasshistory dot com, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you value our work, support us at Patreon dot com

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<v Speaker 1>slash working class History. Links in the show notes. Theme

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<v Speaker 1>music by A Decado. See you Tomorrow,