Deputy PM questions planned union protests

 

The ruling PP party on Friday made a bid to discredit Spain's major unions over their calls to protest in the face of recent reforms to the country's employment laws .

The Deputy PM, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, questioned the reasons behind such calls to protest, and reminded the unions that they should also represent the growing numbers of unemployed, which the reforms are intended to address.

"I understand that unions are protesting because of their reduced presence or power within the area of labor relations," Sáenz de Santamaría said. "But we are also thinking about the rights of workers who are out of a job."

Earlier in the day the El Mundo daily newspaper announced how the head of the Madrid section of the UGT union, José Ricardo Martínez, received a salary of €180,000 euros a year in his capacity as a director of Bankia, prompting Sáenz de Santamaría to call on Union leaders to make their earnings public knowledge. Martínez said his earnings went straight to the UGT's coffers.

"The government has taken transparency on board. Unions that receive public subsidies should decide if the moment has come for them to do so for people and for their members," Sáenz de Santamaría said.