Thousands march against Spain austerity

Marching under banners reading “Neither cuts nor privatizations,” many protesters were civil servants hit with a wage freeze next year.

Spain is experiencing its second recession in three years, is burdened with an unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent and social unrest is on the rise. The number of people registered unemployed rose to 4.71 million in September as the tourism season ended and businesses let workers go.

“I work in a hospital, but I'm about to end up unemployed,” 58-year-old nurse Victoria Gutierrez said. “On Oct. 30, my temporary contract will finish and it won't be extended.

“We have minimum cover on every floor at every hospital,” she said. “This is affecting not just hospitals, also education and civil services, everything.”

The government has pushed through nine straight months of tough austerity measures which have prompted Spain's 17 regional governments, some of which are heavily indebted, to slash spending in health care and education.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Britain must cut more to reduce deficit: PM

NEXT ARTICLE
Spain, Greece wait as eurozone to open up ESM rescue fund

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit