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- Liva & Laia : 15th November
Spain's two largest unions have called for a national protest next Sunday against Friday's labour reforms, which they believe will only add to escalating levels of unemployment.
In a joint press conference between Candido Mendez from the UGT and Ignacio Fernandez of the CCOO, they announced "On February 19 we want the streets of Spain to be filled with noisy protests."
Toxo added that "We will set in motion a process of mobilisation that we hope will grow."
The leaders would not be drawn on specualtion of a Genera Strike, but did say how representatives would be visiting a number of companies across Spain to explain to workers that the reforms "attack the fundamentals of the model of social well-being" and will essentially "dismantle" workers' rights.
Mendez criticised the reforms, saying how they would "destroy jobs in the short term and increase job insecurity in the medium term and increase the frustration of people" who are alredady struggling in the face of a lengthy economic downturn as the country entered it's secon recession in five years.
He went on to say how reforms would hit the middle classes, land that businesses will now be able to fire employees more cheaply and hire younger people at lower wages.
The new PP government reduced employees' maximum severance pay as part of aggressive labour reforms to address an unemployment rate of almot 23%, with unemployment in the 16 - 25 age group standing at almost 50%.
Employees who are laid off will now receive 33 days of severance pay for each year worked, and only 20 days' worth in financially driven layoffs, compared with the current 45 days.