Report from Spain

Solidarity with Spanish workers

ETUC Day of Action

14 November 2012

Our colleagues in the Spanish trade union movement sent us a report on Wednesday afternoon about the early hours of the European Day of Action in Spain.

The general secretaries of the Spanish trade unions CCOO, UGT and USO reported in a press conference held around midday on the development of the general strike. They all agreed that adherence to the strike had been massive, and therefore they declared the general strike as a great success.

In the first hours of the morning, the data on the nightshifts indicated an adherence to the general strike of around 80%. During the day, the data on participation in the private sector was also very positive: the strike was followed by over 90% in the sectors of industry and transport (with only the minimum services operating in the latter). In the public sector, 62% of the workers in public administration, 56% in healthcare and 75% of teachers adhered to the strike.

Ignacio Fernández Toxo, general secretary of CCOO mentioned with special gratitude the participation of those workers who, despite the situation of the Spanish economy, decided to participate in the strike. He recalled that unemployment affects already nearly 6 million people - a figure that shows how ineffective the austerity policies have been to solve Spain's situation. The general strike is a clear sign form the citizens that the government has to change its course.

But beyond the national dimension, the general secretaries of UGT, CCOO and USO underlined the transnational character of the action. 'This strike is a historic landmark: it is the first Iberian strike, and it is a total strike', asserted Toxo, who also congratulated his colleagues in Portugal, Italy, Greece and 'in all European countries who are participating through different activities in this European day of action' called by the European Trade Union Confederation.

In the course of the afternoon there will be mass demonstrations throughout Spain, which will also give a chance to the citizens to show their clear rejection of the policies that are being dictated from the Euorpean Institutions and that only worsen the situation in Spain and many other countries.