GENERAL STRIKE OF (CHINESE?) WORKERS IN SPAIN

Last Wednesday a General Strike took place in Spain, seven years after the last one (*). The two main Workers Unions (CC.OO. and U.G.T.) summoned people to go on strike, trying to flare tempers in the prior days, but the truth is that people in Spain is very disappointed with the main Unions.

People think (very rightly and pertinent)  that Unions have acted very bad and very late and that they should summoned people to go on strike two years ago, when things here were getting from bad to worse and the unemployment started rising dangerously. In this country people feels like not giving a damn about politics and politicians.

And in fact daily life in my city, Madrid, was very quiet and really without incidents (apart from some caused by pickets in the early morning trying to prevent buses to get out from the depots). Where you could really see the effects of the strike were on Chinese bars and shops, all of them were closed!!

(*)   SHORT SUMMARY ABOUT OTHER GENERAL STRIKES IN SPAIN

- 1978 (Adolfo Suarez – U.C.D. in the Government): protesting against the high
   unemployment.

- 1985 (Felipe Gonzalez - P.S.O.E. in the Government): protesting against Pensions Law.

- 1988 (Felipe Gonzalez - P.S.O.E. in the Government): protesting against Youth 
    Employment Law and “rubbish  contracts”.

- 1991 (Felipe Gonzalez - P.S.O.E. in the Government): protesting against Gulf’s war.

- 1992 (Felipe Gonzalez - P.S.O.E. in the Government): protesting against layoffs 
    in unemployment benefits.

- 1994 (Felipe Gonzalez - P.S.O.E. in the Government): protesting against labour reform.

- 2002 (Jose Maria Aznar - P.P. in the Government): protesting against labour reform.

- 2003 (Jose Maria Aznar - P.P. in the Government): protesting against Irak war.

- 2010 (Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero - P.S.O.E. in the Government): protesting against 
   labour reform, which involves dismissing reductions and more precarious employment.