Strike fails to bring Balearics to a standstill

THE main unions in the Balearics, the Workers Commission (CCOO) and the General Workers Union (UGT) claimed yesterday that 68 percent of the regional workforce had backed the national strike, but it was not enought to cripple the Islands.

Despite a low level of support from the public sector, small to medium-sized businesses and the self-employed associations, union representatives described the one-day industrial action as a “successful turnout.” “In general terms, the strike was highly commendable,” said UGT secretary general in the Balearics, Lorenzo Bravo. He was backed up by CCOO chief Katiana Vicens who said that “people can say what they like, but yesterday was far from a normal day in the Islands.” Explaining the lack of public sector support, Bravo said he was aware that there had already been a strike on 8th June this year by government employees and he understood that another date in September was probably “too close for comfort so far as their pockets were concerned.” Reporting on incidents in the Islands that had been prompted by the strike, Central Government Delegate, Ramon Socias said that the most notable had happened on Minorca where someone had cut two of Telefonica's fibre optic points in Ciutadella on Minorca. The sabotage had affected around 18'000 clients, confirmed Socias, adding that the act had been committed by someone who “knew the system.” It was Spain's first general strike in eight years, called to oppose official spending cuts, disrupted transport and some factories, a day before the government was due to test parliamentary support for a tough budget.

The strike had more impact than the June public sector workers strike, which was widely seen as weak. Yesterday's work stoppage coincided with union action in Brussels, Athens and other European cities as austerity measures bite across the continent.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, due to start seeking parliament's approval for his 2011 budget plan today, has vowed to pursue austerity measures and labour reforms that make it easier for companies to hire and fire.

FINANCIAL MARKETS SHRUG OFF INDUSTRIAL ACTION
Trade unions said 10 million people in Spain, or more than half the workforce, walked off their jobs, but the government said less than 10 percent of public administration workers and 20 percent of Madrid transportation workers were on strike.

Financial markets shrugged off the strike, which analysts said was unlikely to make the government reverse its plans to meet European Union deficit reduction targets.

Hundreds of marchers waved flags and forced some shops to close in the heart of Madrid. A handful of picketers scuffled with police who tried to keep roads open. In Asturias in northern Spain, mine workers burned tires and blocked a highway. “We'll continue to strike if that's what's needed to bring down the labour reform, which threatens to make jobs even more vulnerable,“ said graphic designer Alfredo Perez, one of the pickets.

In Barcelona, protesters threw stones breaking shop windows and briefly set a police patrol car on fire.
On the outskirts of the capital plants such as Bosch, which employs 1'000 workers, shut down entirely.
At Palma airport, tourists trapped by cancelled flights napped on inflatable air mattresses. In northern Spain, car factory assembly lines halted and demand for power nationwide was 15 percent lower than expected.

The two biggest unions, the CCOO and UGT, called the strike over measures including plans to overhaul state pensions and raise the retirement age to 67 from 65. “The Spanish protest doesn't seem to be large enough to really change anyone's view, either in the market or amongst the Spanish people,“ said David Lea, Western Europe analyst at ControlRisks.

Zapatero cut civil servants' wages by 5 percent as part of an austerity package after investors drove up Spanish borrowing costs earlier this year over fears the country could be heading for a debt crisis that would trigger a Greek-style bailout. “The country is in a mess, and everyone's personal finances too, so I think a strike just makes things worse,“ said 35-year-old shop assistant Arancha Fernandez de Cordoba.

The unions are much weaker than they were 20 years ago, representing about 16 percent of workers, and many Spaniards braved transport hassles to go to work, citing the country's high unemployment rate - 20 percent. “The strike is a big act, it's just a way for the union representatives to justify their salaries... The unions haven't defended workers' rights before,“ said beauty parlour worker Teresa, 38, as she peeled strike posters off the door of her salon.

The yield premium that investors demand to hold Spanish 10-year bonds rather than benchmark German bunds - a key measure of Spain's borrowing costs - was around 195 basis points, level with a day earlier when it hit its widest point since July.