Spain General Strike 14th Nov : Background Info

The General Strike this Wednesday - the 14th of November - called the CCOO, UGT, USO, and CGT-Inter-STES Unions will be the second such strike this year called in protest over austerity and the wider policies of PM Mariano Rajoy's Partido Popular government.

Next week's action marks the 9th such strike held in Spain since the return to democracy after the death of Franco.

The last general strike took place on 29th March in protest over the Labour Reforms

General Strikes : Timeline

April 5th 1978 : In the midst of transition, UGT and CCOO joined the call made by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to protest against unemployment. For an hour, in 28 countries a strike took place in protest against the problem of unemployment which had reached n average of 5% across Europe.

June 29th 1985 :The first general strike against the PSOE government of Felipe González was called by the CCOO and other smaller unions in protest over the pension law which increased the period of calculation of contributions to qualify for benefits from 2 to 8 years. Whilst the Unions called this particular strike a great success, with an estimated 4 million participants, the Government put the figure closer to 1 million.

December 14th 1988 : Over 7 million workers agreed to strike over the withdrawal of the youth employment plan and against Gonzalez's Government. The government backtracked on its measures and resulted in the so-called "social turn". The strike was supported by an estimated 90% of all workers, according to the unions. However, as ever the Government disagreed with the figure, placing the figure at 50%.

May 28th 1992 : On this occasion the strike was only for a half-day, except in Murcia and the Balearic Islands, where a 24 Hour strike was called in protest over the withdrawal of the decree which cut unemployment benefits. Yet again, the Unions hailed the strike a success with a 34.6% worker participation, While the PSOE Government and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce considered it ineffective.

January 27th 1994 : Yet another General Strike against the Labour reforms of PM Felipe Fernandez saw Union leaders announce the support 90% of workers, while the Spanish chamber of commerce estimated that between 25-30% of workers took part.

June 20th 2002 : The main CCOO and UGT Unions called a general strike against the Unemployment policies of the PP's Jose Maria Aznar this time (I wonder if Felipe Gonzalez was feeling left out ?) Once again, the government branded the strike a flop, with just 16% worker participation, whilst he Unions hailed it a great success with 82% (anyone see a pattern emerging here ?)

September 29th 2010 : This time around the CCOO and UGT called a general strike against labour reform approved by the PSOE government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The unions claimed a 70% participation in the strike, but the government did not give a figure on this occasion, however the Minister of Labour at the time, Celestino Corbacho, said that poor coordination by the Unions had seen a 100% participation by Automotive Workers, but just 3% by those in the Tourism sector.

March 29th 2012 : Spain's major unions called a general strike against Labour Reforms

34 Years : 5 General Strikes under the PSOE, 3 Under the PP, and 1 against Policies of the wider European Community. Can an increasing rate of unemployment in Spain together with escalating cuts and austerity measures influence participation in General Strike next week which stands a chance of influencing change ?