The general strike in Spain yesterday disrupted postal and parcel services in the country withnearly 20% of Correos post offices being closed as postal workers took to the streets protesting
against labour reforms by the Spanish government.The Spanish trade unions CC.OO and UGT claimed that 60% of Correos staff took part in thestrike, compared to only 41% counted by the Spanish postal operator itself.
As for the distribution of letters and parcels, Correos indicated some delivery disruptions weredetected in certain areas. In the early morning yesterday, there were some incidents at severalsorting centres of Correos when trucks were about to exit the centres for parcel delivery. Some ofthem were delayed while some trucks didn’t pull out at all.
DHL Express Spain advised its customers yesterday that its transit times and services might beaffected during the day. “DHL is taking all possible measures to reduce the impact of the nationalstrike and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” it said in a customer message.
TNT Express in Spain published a similar customer message saying it respected the union’s rightto strike but wouldn’t adhere to it. “Our intention is to operate normally during the day butstrike pickets could lead to blockages preventing us from ensuring the service we provide.” Thecompany said that major delivery disruptions had occurred in some parts of the country includingCatalonia and the Basque Country.
CC.OO secretary Antonio Del Campo claimed the participation rate among the ten million Spanishemployees in the general strike was 85%. “This percentage may drop a few percentage points whencalculating the figures for the sectors including health, education and governmental institutionsbut this would not change the general success of the strike,” he declared.
Cándido Méndez, General Secretary of UGT, claimed a total participation figure of 77% amongSpanish employees. “We have to thank the Spanish workers who participated in the strike to defendthe dignity of labour and to share with the unions the outright rejection of the labour reformimposed by the government,” he added.
Today, the ruling Popular Party in Spain is presenting its budget which will include moreausterity measures of about €20 billion under EU obligations.
UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said: “The budgetary cuts will sink Spainfurther into a recession where already 23% of the work force is out of a job. Youth unemploymentstands at more than 50%. The Spanish people are not going to take it and are voting with theirfeet. The new labour law is an attack on democracy. It is nonsense to argue that making it easierto dismiss workers will create more jobs. This is an attack on Spanish democracy and workers willnot stand for it.”
