Labour reform protests across Spain

 

Thousands of protestors took part in as many as 57 seperate demonstations across Spain over the weekend, in protest over recent reforms to Spanish employment law .

The CCOO and UGT Unions announced that they led as many as 500,000 in Madrid, 400,000 in Barcelona, 150,000 in Valencia and 50,000 in Seville, however the Police estimated figures that were as much as ten times lower in some cases.

The reforms, passed by in Parliament by royal decree last week, make it easier for employees to fire workers in times of economic difficulties. The ruling PP government claim that this will encourage business to take on much-needed staff, whilst the Unions argue that this is an abuse of worker's rights.

Unemployment in Spain has more than tripled since the collapse of the construction boom 5 years ago, which led to a downturn in the economy. In 2007 unemployment stood at a fraction over 7%, whereas today it is close to 23%.

On Saturday Deputy PM, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, questioned the motives of the Unions in calling such protests, asking members to think of the number of unemployed that the reforms are intended to address.