Why the Green Party supports the Spanish Railway Workers
Railway workers in Spain are due to hold another one day strike on Monday, September 17, 2012 to protest against Government plans to privatise half of the railway ostensibly to cut costs. Union workers say it’s a terrible move that will threaten safety, and could lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs. Spain’s economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the first quarter of the year as the country fell back into recession for the first time in three years.
The Green Party’s International Coordinator, John Street, comments:
"The Green Party of England and Wales fully supports the action taken (a one day strike at the beginning of August and another planned for September 17th) by Spanish railway workers in their opposition to the planned privatisation of Spain’s railway network and the probable job losses that will arise from that.
The problems facing Spain and its people will not be solved by privatising the railways; the result will almost certainly be more unemployed, cuts to the railway network, fewer people travelling and a downward slide for the railway industry.
The Spanish people need, as do we in Britain, a safe railway network that they can afford to travel on, that will take them where they want to go."