- Title: SPAIN: Madrid metro workers start 3-day strike over pay
- Date: 24th June 2010
- Summary: VARIOUS OF FRONT PAGE OF "QUE" FREE NEWS PAPER READING " METRO ON STRIKE"
- Embargoed: 9th July 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Employment
- Reuters ID: LVA9MD3OZ0YRG5L5M14D3KR9NOKM
- Story Text: A three-day underground strike began in Madrid on Monday (June 28), delaying the normal activity of more than 2 million users in the Spanish capital, according to Metro de Madrid sources.
Around 7.500 Metro workers joined the strike to protest against the wage cuts announced by the regional government for its public companies.
Spain's Socialists aim to save 15 billion euros (18.57 billion U.S. dollars) by, amongst other moves, slashing civil servants' pay by 5 percent.
On first day of the strike, underground workers provided a minimum service of around 50 percent but said a workers' assembly would be held later on Monday to assess the measures and services for the next two days (Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30).
"I always take Line 3 to come to Moncloa and I've found that the Metro was taken to long. So after that I tried to take the bus but I didn't know which to take. So at the end I've been lucky and it arrived two minutes later," Metro user Veronica said to Reuters after leaving Moncloa station.
Benedicta, another Metro user said that those most affected by the strike were the workers.
"They have the right to claim for what belongs to them. But we, the workers, are the affected ones."
Jose Maria, a regular Metro user, had to wait 30 minutes to take the underground.
"30 minutes late, I come from Villaverde and 30 minutes late," he said.
The disruption on the underground increased the over ground traffic, making bus and car travel difficult.
While the measures were not originally aimed at public company workers such as transport, Madrid's regional government extended the salary reductions to the Metro employees.
The move prompted five unions to call the strike which will reduce train service by more than half on Monday and affect an estimated 2 million users.
The industrial action follows civil servant strikes on June 8 against the pay cuts and comes ahead of a general strike planned for the end of September to protest the government's labour market reform which unions say makes firing workers cheaper.
The government passed the reform June 22 to streamline a rigid jobs market which has left more than one in five workers unemployed and to convince a nervous market it is capable of passing unpopular reforms to improve economic expectations. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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