One hundred days after his inauguration, Mariano Rajoy faces Thursday its first general strike in Spain. "Hundred Days, hardly!" Are offended tenors of the Popular Party (PP, right), the formation of the head of government. "The strike, finally!" Meet the basics of trade unions, eager to do battle. For the past three months, government and workers' representatives to look into daggers.
In recent weeks, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), the two largest unions in the country, have organized two events before calling a general strike. The leaders admitted bluntly: it was first to count.
In the crosshairs of unions, labor market reform, adopted by decree on February 9 and described as "extremely aggressive" … by the minister of the economy itself!
Javier Doz, Head of International Relations of CCOO, summarizes the two main objections to the reform: "First, this law flexibilized layoffs and cuts costs. Second, it greatly weakens collective bargaining. "The government says it is to encourage hiring by offering less restrictive labor contracts. The argument is scanned by Doz: "Since the adoption of the decree, unemployment has continued to grow."
"A stroke of genius!"
The executive, in turn, paved the way. A short sentence illustrates this perfectly. It was in Brussels on 31 January. Mariano Rajoy attended his first European Council. Prior to opening the meeting, he met with his Finnish counterpart and brags: "The reform of labor law will cost me a general strike!" Rajoy then displays a satisfied smile. Barely a month after taking office, the standoff between the government and unions had already begun.
"A stroke of genius!" Can not help admiring Pablo López Calle, professor of sociology of work at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. "It's Rajoy himself who called a general strike! It presents the mobilization as a sign of his political identity, "he decrypts. Proof of its determination, in short.
For unions, in any case, the day will be a test. In a country affected by an unemployment rate of 23%, fear of losing his job well anesthesia claims. For several weeks, unions must also defuse a series of controversies echoed by the conservative press. A leader of UGT, for example, was accused of receiving tens of thousands of dollars from the Caja Madrid, a savings bank the largest in the country. In reality, the money is paid to each member of the Board and shall be returned to the union. "This is a campaign to discredit us," considers Doz, denouncing "personal insults".
The challenges of Spain
Mistrust vis-à-vis trade unions, however, goes beyond the usual political divisions. During the demonstration on 19 February, for example, indignant movement of May 15 had joined the workers' representatives. But these indignados had organized their own parade. "Thanks for coming!" They sang at the CCOO and UGT. One way to criticize the supposed slowness of their response. "¡No representan our" ("They do not represent us!") Cried others, usually reserved for a political slogan.
Conversely, unions are wary of calls from the foot of the Socialist Party (PSOE). The leader of the PSOE, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, does not hide his strategy: "The PP has shown with the bishops (an allusion to the protests against gay marriage or abortion), we, we demonstrate with the unions." These latter, however, still marked by the austerity measures of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Socialist prime minister post. "In recent events, says Lopez, union leaders have done everything to prevent the Socialists are at the forefront." The Socialists, requinqués by an unexpected election victory last Sunday in Andalusia, intend to transform the test.
Beyond the likely battle between unions and government figures, the point lies elsewhere. Condenses into a general strike the next day challenges of Spain. On the one hand, the government Rajoy wants to kill the rebellion in the bud, establish his austerity program and ensure social peace by force of his majority. The other, the parliamentary opposition and trade union seeks to rise from the ashes.