Less hours and more equitable layoffs: this was the demonstrations of 1 May in Spain
This May 1, thousands of workers have taken the streets in over 80 Spanish cities to participate in the demonstrations convened by the UGT and CCO unions for the International Workers Day, under the motto “protect the future conquered and winning”. The main requests They were the reduction of working hours 37.5 hours a week and a reform of the adequate dismissal a European standards.
Madrid welcomed The most mass demonstrationWith the participation of the main leaders of the Union and several members of the Government, including the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, who assured that the bill will be approved for next week Reduce working hours. In his speech, Díaz anticipated that this will be “the last first of May with a maximum day of 40 hours in our country”.
“(Spain is) a country that does an excess of extraordinary hours without backlog They are absolutely indecent. Now people have to speak and ask the political formations to live up to circumstances, “said the Minister of Labor.
The gears also brought together thousands of people in the city such as BarcelonaBilbao, Vigo or Santander. In Catalonia, the protest has placed the emphasis on Cut the day without affecting the salary. In the Basque country, the nationalist unions claimed their minimum salary, while in Cantabria the model of the Bridgestone factory took advantage of the day to protest an era that could leave more than 200 unemployed workers.
The unions want more free time for workers
In Madrid, the event traveled from Gran Vía to Plaza de España, where Ugt and Ccoo Leaders, Pepe Álvarez and Unoi SedoThey requested that the parties do not block the parliamentary debate on the working day, remembering that a social majority supports this measure. In addition, both leaders asked to immediately open a dialogue table to face changes to the dismissal system and approach it what it establishes The European Social Charter.
The mobilization had a remarkable institutional presence. In addition to Yolanda Díaz, several government ministers participated, such as Pilar Alegría, Elma Saiz, Mónica García and óscar lópez. Also the representatives of Podemos such as Io Belarra and Irene Montero Support for trade union complaints.
In Barcelona, the march began in the square of Urquinaona and advanced through the via Laietana. The Secretary General of Ccoo in Catalonia, Belén López, observed that the company requires “Look at life” during a shorter day And stressed that there are economic resources to reach it No salary cut. The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, was also present in the Catalan protest.
Díaz recommends intervening in the electric market after the blackout
However, the great blackout that on Monday He left the entire Iberian peninsula in the dark for hours It is still a priority theme this Thursday. In just five seconds 60% of the potential in the country was lost In terms of generation of energy, a fact that is studied, although the weight of guilt has been put in electrical companies.
In an interview in “The Time of the 1” of Tve on the occasion of the International Workers Day, Yolanda Díaz requested Intervention of the electric market. “Red Eléctric is a private monopoly and cannot continue to work in this way,” said the government vice -president. “When we talk about the electricity of Spain, we are talking about a strategic sector. And we are clear, It must be in public hands. “
