The march had the slogan "time to win". The demands were equality, improved employment, improved salaries and improved pensions. The general secretary of the UGT, Alejandro Texias, said that the time had come to recover all that had been lost over the past few years. "We have to get back all that the Spanish government has taken away." He explained that labour reform has led to a decrease in salaries and greater job insecurity.
The general secretary of the CCOO, José Luis García, issued a warning to businesses. "Either redistribute wealth or there will be social conflict in the Balearics."
Among the politicians was President Armengol, taking part in the May Day march for the first time. Female workers had been placed at the head of the march, and she congratulated the organisers on the "magnificent gesture". There are, the president noted, "many inequalities between men and women in terms of salary and treatment at work". "Legal equality exists in part, but real equality does not."
Employment minister Iago Negueruela said that the Madrid government is "permanently deaf" to calls for labour reform to be scrapped. There has to be legislation aimed at redistributing wealth to workers.
Other politicians included the mayor of Palma, Antoni Noguera; one of the Council of Majorca's vice-presidents, Jesús Jurado; and the spokesperson for Ciudadanos at Palma town hall, Josep Lluís Bauzá. Their participation was truncated, however, as was that of all the marchers. The first day of the main tourism season, and there was a downpour.
1 comment
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Typical Unions. They believe the outdated Labour Laws are the best, but they are the reason you have 50% youth unemployment, Spain did not rise out of the recession because of the inflexibility of employment. Jobs for life trap persons into jobs they are totally bored with, but they cannot leave due to the protection. Employment rules need to change even more and not too move backwards.