On 1 May, many thousands answered the call of the two main union confederations UGT and CCOO for a nationwide walkout in protest at the government’s labour law reforms that were carried through earlier in 2011. Over 80 rallies were organised throughout the country, but the largest masses gathered in the centre of Madrid to condemn the government and the financial institutions who are in their opinion the cause of the deep crisis in which the country is immersed. Yet, the Zapatero government remains adamant, repeating that reforms and austerity measures are needed to bring it through the crisis.
English: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/177692.html via
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Spain
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.