Union leaders expect general strike to be a success

Barcelona (ACN).- The general strike in Spain will be a 'magnificent' success according to union leaders in Catalonia. On Monday syndicalists Josep Maria Álvarez of the UGT union and Joan Carles Gallego of the CCOO said that the industrial action will force the central government to reconsider its plans to reform the labour market. They even expect an amendment to other measures such as the planned cuts in public investment or the freezing of public pay. Union leaders anticipate that most economical sectors in the country will take industrial action on the 29^th of September (29-S).

According to the leader of UGT in Catalonia, Josep Maria Álvarez, the 29-S will be “a magnificent day” that will show how workers are “convinced” about the “need to stop all of these measures”. Álvarez argued that citizens should not pay the painful consequences of a crisis that they have not created. The union leader added that the 29-S will be a day of industrial action and mobilisation all around Europe.

Both Álvarez and the leader of CCOO, Joan Carles Gallego, avoided predicting the number of people that will strike on the 29-S, but said that the protest will be highly visible. Álvarez told reporters that the industrial action will take place in all of the economical sectors, although he admitted that it will be more difficult in those sectors where labour conditions are more precarious. Joan Carles Gallego said that the strike has received the support of up to 160 Catalan organisations, within which include social and cultural entities as well as well-known personalities of Catalan society.

The leader of the UGT union said that the 29-S will not be a 'normal' day, but he guaranteed that there will be minimum services to protect the health and security of citizens.