The next day

The day after the general strike saw the government announce its long-awaited budget, which included punishing spending cuts. It’s been a tense week in Europe, with fears that Spain will be swept away by the markets’ worries that contagion will spread to the rest of the eurozone. It is precisely because this country’s problems have not been solved by the strike that it is in nobody’s interests that the streets become a battleground — let’s not forget that more than a hundred people were injured on Thursday. What matters now is that the government, the political parties and the unions continue talking to each other.

The government described Thursday’s strike as “peaceful,” and said that agreements to respect minimum transport services were upheld. At the same time, the labor unions handled the movement of hundreds of thousands of their members in around 100 cities throughout the country. Similarly, protestors from other organizations opposed to the government’s labor market reforms were well behaved. That said, two local police officers in the Basque Country were injured, as was a young man after he was hit by a rubber bullet. There were police baton charges in Pamplona, shops were damaged in Barcelona, and several arrests were made in Madrid after attempts were made to stop the traffic in the center of the city: a strike is a serious matter, especially when violent groups try to hijack it.

Industrial impact

 The strike had its greatest impact on industrial output and on the construction sector. Most shops opened, and local government and the civil service functioned as normal. Fortunately, predictions that the day would end violently — following the trend in Greece — proved unfounded. Those intent on stirring up violence should take heed, and behave more responsibly.

But above and beyond a few incidents, and the disappointment of some that the day did not spark widespread violence, the real issue here is that the last thing the Spanish economy needs right now is another general strike — all that Thursday’s stoppage has achieved is to further undermine the confidence of international investors in the country. Negotiating is always better than a show of strength; all concerned now need to work together to prevent further conflict.

Regarding the question of labor-market reform, the heads of Spain’s two main unions, Cándido Méndez of the Socialist Party-affiliated UGT, and Ignacio Fernández Toxo of the Communist Party-led CCOO, have called for talks. The Labor Minister, Fátima Báñez, says she awaits the labor unions’ proposals, as well as those of the opposition, but says there is no question of any backtracking on the main points of the changes to the labor market the Popular Party intends to push through Congress. The coming weeks will see if government, unions and the Socialist Party can find a way to channel the electorate’s unhappiness at the proposals into something positive.

A strike foretold

One hundred days into his mandate, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has lived through a general strike that he knew was coming back in January. His government’s legitimacy has in no way been undermined by the adverse result in the regional elections in Andalusia, nor by the strike on Thursday. At the same time, the government will understand that an absolute majority in Congress doesn’t give it carte blanche to do as it likes; what’s more, majorities can be diminished over time. It needs to demonstrate through debate that it is right in pursuing its policies, and it needs to convince the electorate that Spain has little room for maneuver.

The labor unions would be making a big mistake in ramping up strike action, something that they have already intimated. Reform of the labor market, like all other legislation, will require pacts between the different political parties, who should take into account the manifest unpopularity of the proposals, as shown by Thursday’s strike.