BALEARICS TO GROUND TO A HALT

Palma.—The general strike is on after union bosses officially registered their intentions with the relative authorities yesterday morning.
The principal aim of the one day protest on Thursday, March 29, is to paralise the country, including the Balearics.
Lorenzo Bravo, Secretary general of the UGT, general workers' union, which represents 90 percent of workers here in the Balearics, said that the strike is going to prove a “triumph” for the cause because an extremely high number of his union's members have backed industrial action in protest against the fresh wave of austerity cuts being introduced by the government in Madrid and Palma and the new labour reforms. “This protest is not just about the looking after the best interests of workers in the private sector but a call to arms for everyone to come out, join the march and stand up for the social and labour rights,” unions sources said yesterday. “It's better to lose a day's work than your job for the rest of your life,” said Bravo. “What the government has introduced is not a reform but an attack on worker's rights and we are calling on everyone to come out and support us and defend their own rights on March 29. Bring the country to a complete standstill and if the government does not listen, then we'll continue demonstrating,” he added.