General strike hits Spain
The first general strike against the centre-right government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was elected in November, took place on March 29 as unions and workers took to the streets against a new barrage of austerity measures in the midst of Spain’s deep economic crisis. The Rajoy administration insists that cutbacks and labour reforms are needed to bring Spain’s deficit under control and introduce flexibility to the workplace in the face of 23 percent unemployment. Unions claim the government “wants to end labour and social rights and finish off everything.”
