Spain to call general strike for Nov 14th

 

Spain's main labor unions, CCOO and UGT, plan to call a general strike for 14th November to protest the government's austerity drive, just eight months after the last country-wide stoppage.

The strike will be formally announced at a top level meeting on Friday and will be the first time 2 general strikes have been held in the same year. A meeting will also be held of the so-called Social Summit, which groups together some 200 social organizations opposed to the government's economic policies.

The decision to go ahead with the strike came just hours after the European Trade Union Confederation called for strikes and demonstrations against the belt-tightening movement in Europe on November 14.

The Portuguese union CGTP has called for a national strike on November 14, while stoppages are also expected in Cyprus and Greece.

CCOO and UGT sources said the proposal to hold a pan-European mobilization came from the Spanish labor unions which have been in talks on the issue with their Portuguese counterparts since a few months back.

The strike will coincide with campaigning for regional elections in Catalonia on November 25. CCOO and UGT have never previously called for a general strike during election periods.