THERMOMETERS IN Spain are heating up, and so too are the temperatures on the labour front. More than 2.5 million public sector workers were summoned to a 24-hour strike yesterday in protest at 5 per cent cuts in their salaries, coming into effect this month and frozen through 2011.
Pickets were out in force from early morning in many parts of the country. Demonstrators stopped morning rush-hour traffic in many cities, and protesters staged noisy demonstrations outside ministries and public buildings.
As often happens in such cases, reports of support vary dramatically according to the source and also differed in some parts of the country. At midday, the government claimed that only 11 per cent of workers supported the strikes, while the unions were claiming 75 per cent in many sectors, particularly in government offices. One example was the underground car park attached to a complex of ministerial buildings which normally houses 2,000 cars – yesterday there were fewer than 200. The main court house in central Madrid was at a virtual standstill all day and other official offices were running with skeleton staffing.
The strikes have affected some hospitals, and fire and ambulance services, with many of them only providing emergency care. Most state schools opened yesterday morning but few teachers reported for duty. Public transport in some regions was badly affected; in other regions, services were working as normal.
Apart from the 5 per cent pay cuts, the government plans to: freeze pensions at the current level and suspend the annual inflation-linked adjustments; abolish the “baby cheque” paid out to new parents; reduce development aid and investments in public work schemes, such as the high speed trains; and cut funding to the regions by €1.2 billion.
Union leaders have accepted that tough measures are necessary in the financial crisis, but complain that the weight has been put on those who can least afford it, such as low-paid workers and pensioners.
The €15 billion austerity package is aimed at reducing the budget deficit, which currently stands at 11 per cent of gross domestic product, and will hopefully reassure the financial markets that Spain will be able to meet its debts.
Elena Salgado, the economy minister, said yesterday that she was optimistic that the deficit could fall to 6 per cent by the end of next year. But 16 European economy ministers meeting in Brussels this week were more pessimistic and warned these measures might not be sufficient. The euro group president, Jean Claude Juncker, described the steps taken by Spain and Portugal as “significant and brave”, but he said they must be prepared to make adjustments if necessary in 2011.
Many saw yesterday’s strikes as a form of dress rehearsal for a full-scale general strike which the unions have threatened if the government goes ahead with a law making it easier – and cheaper – to dismiss a worker.
Spain’s labour laws are among the most generous and expensive in the EU. In certain cases, a boss must pay a worker as much as 45 days’ wages for every year worked if he wishes to dismiss him.
Talks between government, unions and the bosses to reform these laws, which have continued for many months, have ended in stalemate. Mr Zapatero has warned that his government will approve a reform, if necessary by decree, if an agreement is not reached by the end of this week. The unions are already warming up their strike mechanism.