Unions claim general strike victory

But backing for the strike reportedly varied significantly according to public service departments. Reports were that there was between 13 and 20 percent support for industrial action from workers in government administration offices but as much as 100 percent backing from workers on the Majorcan railway service (SFM) and on Palma's municipal bus company EMT.

In public education, said a union spokesman, there was a 50 percent turnout in favour of the strike and 16 percent support was given in state assisted schools. Backing was even higher in the air transport sector (60%) and in the food and drink industry (68%). In the public sector of the construction industry, the spokesman said that 65 percent of the workforce had given their backing to industrial action, in telecommunications, 75% of staff had downed tools as had 60 percent in local, as opposed to central, government offices. Significantly, said the spokesman, there had been an 85 percent strike turnout of staff working for private transport.

CCOO Secretary Katiana Vicens warned that this has been just the start of industrial action being planned in order to make Central Government change its mind over labour law reform which will allegedly violate workers' constitutional rights.

Jose Luis Garcia, also a union activist with the CCOO, pointed out that there was an unnecessarily high level of police activity which he suggested was an “exaggerated response” to industrial action.

There was another side to the story however from Balearic government spokesman Rafael Bosch who said yesterday that the strike had been something of a “damp squib” in the Islands. “There's been no evidence of massive support,” he said, “considering that the total industrial action in the Balearics barely touched 25 percent of the workforce, and in the health sector, the turnout was just 7.7 percent.” Picket action
Speaking to the media yesterday, Bosch said that government assessments also put strike support in Education at 23.24 percent, and at 20.72 percent in public administration.

Bosch claimed that the minimum service requirements which had been agreed with unions prior to the strike and backed by a regional High Court ruling, were being honoured except at Palma Central station where picket action was preventing some buses from leaving the depature bays. He refuted union claims that the government had put “minimum service” identification stickers on more public coach services than the agreement allowed. “The General Strike hasn't been a success at all, given that not even one in four people who could potentially have supported it, came out in favour of industrial action,” alleged Bosch.