More than 70 demonstrations demand wage increases in Spain

USPA NEWS - This May 1st found in Spain an impoverished country due to insufficient increases in wages and pensions, which cannot offset the, sometimes excessive, increases in food. The increase in poverty in the country also pits political parties against each other; the Government and the unions with the employers; and society with politicians. Ten days before the beginning of the electoral campaign for the local and regional elections on May 28, this Monday thousands of Spaniards took to the streets in more than 70 demonstrations throughout the country, to demand a distribution of business profits for the way of raising wages.

The situation was propitious for the unions to fill the streets, if it were not for the fact that in Spain the unions are subsidized by the State and everyone knows that no dog bites the hand that feeds it. So the demonstrations took place between warnings and threats of a hot autumn if, before the summer, an agreement is not reached with the employers to raise wages. Precisely, this objective presided over the demonstrations called under the slogan "Raise wages, lower prices, distribute benefits."

The two main Spanish unions, the General Union of Workers (UGT in its acronym in Spanish), of socialist inspiration; and Comisiones Obreras (CCOO in its acronym in Spanish), of communist ideology, denounced the price escalation of basic products in the shopping cart, after which they point to "excess corporate profits." And they urged the CEOE employers organization to close a salary agreement or, otherwise, they warned that there will be strikes and mobilizations in the autumn.

"Either there is an agreement on wages or the unions will organize, not call, mobilization days in the autumn," warned the CCOO general secretary, Unai Sordo. And he added that these mobilizations "will take the form of a strike" in those sectors with blocked collective agreements. For his part, the general secretary of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez, urged the employers to negotiate to reach an agreement before the summer.

The Madrid demonstration was attended by the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, and five other members of the Government. The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, congratulated the Spanish workers for his day and recalled the economic reforms promoted by his Executive “with social peace.” Among them, he cited "the labor reform, the Minimum Interprofessional Wage at 1,080 euros, revaluing today's pensions and guaranteeing those of tomorrow" or "promoting the Professional Education and Science law to create better jobs."

The salary of Spaniards fell by 5.5% in 2022, the equivalent of almost eleven days of work, according to a report by the NGO Oxfam Intermón published on the occasion of the May 1st. Faced with this fall, the report ensures, the dividends of quoted companies increased by 26.8% compared to the previous year, up to 26,000 million euros. The study also underlines that the salaries of Spanish workers have risen less than in the rest of the main European economies. As a result, Spanish workers lost an average of 1,523 euros in purchasing power in 2022.