La Huelga 29.9.10 - How was it for you?

[dimonió]

Anybody notice the strike on Wednesday? I hardly saw any difference to everyday life. According to the local papers, more than half the flights from Palma left OK. I was at a meeting all day at a local hotel and the management said they were a few staff short in the kitchen, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe it was different on the mainland.

[greytop]

¿Huelga? ¿Qué huelga?

[SrCandas]

Originally Posted by dimonió

Anybody notice the strike on Wednesday?

In Madrid by 13:10 a major electricity company reported a 15% drop in demand. That was not untypical for major business/industrial areas.

My BIL who works in Madrid was told that the factory would close but he would need to make up the hours - so he couldn't strike. And of course hitting the local transport stopped some people getting to work who might have wanted to.

My step daughter, airhostess, was told work or go!

And in Barcelona they broke windows, but then I've seen that before, and El corte Ingles in Madrid had a strong police presence I was told.

Spain as always divided and disorganised. Very sad; many who wanted to strike couldn't, many who wanted to work couldn't and the unemployed stayed unemployed.

At least the Asturian miners are putting up resistance (I'm sure others as well but being my area I know and support them).

[LindaM]

I live east of Malaga and I was surprised to find all the banks and most of the shops open. The out of town shopping mall also had most of its shops open. However, virtually all the cafes and most of the restaurants were closed! Didn't see any buses - not sure about the airport,

[Legazpi]

Got to work OK in Madrid - had to wait the usual two minutes for a train and could get a seat. Most shops around my office were open, although fewer people around. Seemed a bit like a typical mid-August day in Madrid with many people on holiday. Seems like the strike was a resounding failure.

[richardksa]

I visited several companies. All staff went to work. I had a bit of a wait for my one bus journey, but I noticed no difference with the Metro.
The workmen building our new supermarket all turned up for work, which was annoying as they do make a lot of noise, as did the men repairing the façade of my apartment block. Strike, what strike?

[Lupine Chemist]

I was in alcalá de henares for a few days and it was definitely quiet. But I still saw buses running and services working. It honestly seemed like a Sunday with more business open.

[Tumbit]

The teacher at my daughter's school was 5 minutes late opening up the playground ( She said it was due to a minor protest at a major junction by the Train Station in the next Town along ). Otherwise, other than listening to / watching / reading the news I personally wouldn't have known any different.

[Uriel]

So, tell me -- exactly what gets accomplished by these strikes?

[Legazpi]

Originally Posted by Uriel

So, tell me -- exactly what gets accomplished by these strikes?

In the past general strikes (or at least the threat thereof) have been successful in securing generous public sector benefits in countries such as Spain, the UK, and especially France. However now that the Spanish government really has run out of other people's money and there is no alternative to making cuts, all these strikes do is demonstrate how everything seems to run fine even when half the public sector fails to turn up to work .

[fawlty]

Originally Posted by Legazpi

In the past general strikes (or at least the threat thereof) have been successful in securing generous public sector benefits in countries such as Spain, the UK, and especially France. .

The only General Strike in Britain took place in 1926 and was an abject failure. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...f_the_conflict.

To my knowledge there has not been any serious threat of another General Strike in Britain since.

[Ben]

As far as I can see, the stike was just a protest about things that had already happened, and as has been noted above, was a total failure! Oh well. All was business as usual in our area.

[Legazpi]

Originally Posted by fawlty

The only General Strike in Britain took place in 1926 and was an abject failure. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...f_the_conflict.

To my knowledge there has not been any serious threat of another General Strike in Britain since.

Yes by writing "general strikes" (without the capitals) I was really thinking of mass strikes. When I wrote that I had in the back of my mind the changes to public sector retirement benefits that Blair/Brown were going to introduce a few years ago. I can't remember the details but they backed down, although maybe due to the threat of losing core votes rather than strike action.

There were also many mass strikes in the UK in the 70s and 80s that did influence government policy to varying degrees.

[richardksa]

Originally Posted by Legazpi

There were also many mass strikes in the UK in the 70s and 80s that did influence government policy to varying degrees.

Ah, yes! The miners' strike was so successful.
Spain has been quite well politically isolated and financially insulated in past economic downturns and before international investment began to arrive in the late fifties and EU money when they joined basically lived with a "What you don't have you don't miss" situation. Now the population has been used to better times which was bought with grants and loans. Now we have a time of reckoning. Personally I think it will be good for Spain. They will come out of this stronger and leaner. Just not tomorrow.

[Legazpi]

Originally Posted by richardksa

Ah, yes! The miners' strike was so successful.
Spain has been quite well politically isolated and financially insulated in past economic downturns and before international investment began to arrive in the late fifties and EU money when they joined basically lived with a "What you don't have you don't miss" situation. Now the population has been used to better times which was bought with grants and loans. Now we have a time of reckoning. Personally I think it will be good for Spain. They will come out of this stronger and leaner. Just not tomorrow.

There were several miners strikes during the 70s and 80s, and I think sometimes they got their way, but (fortunately) the big one failed.

I hope you are right about Spain - I think there are a quite a few tough years ahead yet though

[Acosta]

Originally Posted by Ben

As far as I can see, the stike was just a protest about things that had already happened, and as has been noted above, was a total failure! Oh well. All was business as usual in our area.

I was really wondering about this. When I saw the strike and as well the following debates, all I could think was.. What's the point other than some show of strength.

Be interested to see how it plays out.

It is always interesting watching the news of another country as a foreigner. I do feel that my perspective is much more objective than for my own country's politics.

[Pippa]

Originally Posted by Acosta

It is always interesting watching the news of another country as a foreigner. I do feel that my perspective is much more objective than for my own country's politics.

Well, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

[Legazpi]

Originally Posted by Acosta

I was really wondering about this. When I saw the strike and as well the following debates, all I could think was.. What's the point other than some show of strength.

Be interested to see how it plays out.

It is always interesting watching the news of another country as a foreigner. I do feel that my perspective is much more objective than for my own country's politics.

It almost seems that the unions feel obliged to strike whenever they can in order to justify their existence/fees. Even if they know they're not going to achieve anything. Making token gestures to oppose every reform, even when most people consider them necessary just makes the unions look weak. Which is a shame because they do have an important role to play in protecting employee rights.

[SrCandas]

Originally Posted by Legazpi

It almost seems that the unions feel obliged to strike .......

Legazpi I think you may be right there. The unions in Spain are not like the unions in France or the UK. They feel a need to prove they are not tools of the state and the rich. (Sadly I have little faith in them having spoken to a spanish relation who works within one. Corruption is everywhere in Spain ).

But one effect of the strike is that we are discussing it here. My spanish stepdaughter discusses it in Madrid. She now realises that reluctantly she will need to leave her country. And my sister-in-law knows she will have to bring up her daughter on less than 1000Es per month (her job goes this week).

Even a failed strike has an impact on peoples thinking and for those who cannot escape lets them see where they stand

[Acosta]

Originally Posted by Pippa

Well, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I am not sure if that was what I intended to convey. Rather, inspite of what the crisis is still doing in the US, I know for a fact how much worse it is in other places and countries. So I don't see the Grass as greener, perhaps a different shade of grey.

What I did intend to convey is that watching the news in spanish (my Spanish practice) I find myself being less emotionally attached to one issue or the other issue, or one political party vs the other and see the whole situation a bit more objectively. Or perhaps not being a Spanish national, I am a touch more immune to the emotional and rhetorical traps / methods used in the political discourse (or lack there off).

Thanks