Madrid civil servants protest spending cuts
Thousands take to streets in demonstration against austerity drive
Thousands of public sector workers took to the streets of the capital on Tuesday evening to protest cutbacks introduced by the cash-strapped Madrid regional government.
Plainclothes policemen and firemen in uniforms marched with teachers, healthcare workers and other civil servants, some accompanied by their families, under the banner: “The public sector is for all. No cuts.”
The regional government’s austerity drive includes increasing the working week from 35 hours to 37.5 hours, a measure labor unions calculate could deprive temporary and relief workers of some 8,000 jobs.