Mass protests in Spain, unions condemn labour reforms
An estimated half a million people joined in protests in 57 towns and cities across Spain decrying reforms unions say will destroy workers' rights, euronews.net reported.
Madrid saw the largest rally against the government which has already introduced tax hikes and spending cuts, and now wants to grant companies greater hiring and firing power.
According to international media, about 4000 people participated in protests in Barcelona on Sunday.
From now on, employers can reduce the salaries of workers without agreement, simply by claiming this is necessary for reasons of competitiveness or productivity-as it always is. Under the new law's "more internal flexibility" measures, employers will be able to claim they are going through "changes or through difficult situations" in order to transfer workers to other jobs within the company, transfer them to other locations, and change timetables, duties and working hours as they see fit. Also, 5 percent of a worker's annual working hours may be redistributed in line with the production needs of the company.
The new law also makes it cheaper and easier for companies to sack workers.
According to the government, the abolishing of severance pay will help struggling companies recover from the economic crisis and create jobs in a country where almost half of all young people are unemployed.
Photos by euronews. net
