Demonstrators In Employment Demand

The recent global economic downturn has had devastating repercussions for Spain, especially for its industry and construction sector.

On Saturday demonstrations, leader of the nation's United Left trade union, Cayo Lara, cautioned the government of the growing unemployment issues and said "(Prime Minister) Zapatero should be aware that Spain is not a country of wonders. It's a country with a lot of problems and he hasn't found a proper way to handle the crisis, a way that should take leftist measures."

"We need to defend our rights together. We mustn't emerge from this crisis as losers, which has happened to many on previous occasions," Euronews also quoted a General Motors unionist as saying.

Spain's 18 percent jobless figure has sparked fear in the government, with some in the administration proposing alternative job creation models to hoist the country out of the crisis.