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More than 10,000 workers took part in the 'Rally for Quality Jobs, Social Justice and Peace, and Against Deregulation and Austerity' Euro-demonstration, organised by the ETUC, CCOO and UGT at the Vistalegre Arena in the Spanish capital, and attended by the Second Deputy Prime Minister and labour minister of Spain, Yolanda Diaz Pérez. Together, unions are calling on European leaders to abandon failed austerity policies and instead follow the pro-investment approach which has put Spain on course to grow three times faster than the rest of the Eurozone.
The ETUC is calling on the European institutions to:
- Deliver fair wages, promote collective bargaining and a secure future for all;
- Ensure that every job is a quality job, through the Quality Jobs Act;
- End deregulation, including the threat to workers' rights from EU Inc.;
- End austerity and increase investment in our industries and public services;
- Take action to deliver decent and affordable housing for all;
- Defend peace and international law.
Speaking in Madrid, ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
"Today we are sending a message to European leaders, meeting in Brussels: stop indulging the deregulation fantasies of big business and follow the example of Europe's best performing economy by raising pay and investment.
"Spain has become the most successful economy in Europe because it has broken with failed austerity policies. Its success shows that another Europe is not only possible, but necessary and urgent to create growth with quality jobs in successful companies and public services."
Jean Michel Hutsebaut, speaking as industriAll Europe's vice president, said:
"Today Madrid is not only the capital of Spain, but the capital of trade union solidarity. We want a Europe that guarantees decent wages, strong collective agreements and respect for trade union rights everywhere! We do not accept that workers should pay the price for a crisis they did not cause.
"We want a Europe that invests in industries, we want a Europe that protects jobs, and we are sending a clear message to Europe's leaders: without its workers, Europe cannot succeed!"