Rights, not trenches. Wages, housing, and democracy. With this slogan at the head of the demonstrations, thousands of workers called by the unions have marched through the streets of about 80 cities in Spain during the morning of this Friday. Alongside the usual demand fought contract by contract, better pay conditions for the working class, CC OO and UGT have warned on Labor Day about the rise of the far right — a political movement that despises them — and the exorbitant price of houses — which weakens the purchasing power of so many people. That is why they have chosen Málaga, a city that exemplifies the problems of accessing housing in Spain, for the main May Day demonstration, coinciding with the day the electoral campaign begins in Andalusia.
With almost 13,000 tourist homes and more than 300 blocks of tourist apartments, the capital of Málaga has responded as host. More than 20,000 people — according to CC OO — have answered the call. And they did so before the start of the demonstration, scheduled for 11:30 a.m., filling the surroundings of Manuel Agustín Heredia Avenue. There, the secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, emphasized that Málaga is a central place “to claim the needs” of the citizens. “We want to talk about well-being: housing has become a very serious problem for the vast majority of citizens. It must be addressed comprehensively,” he requested. His counterpart in CC OO, Unai Sordo, criticized that housing has become “a speculative asset” and requested that it be placed “at the center of Spain’s debate,” asking public administrations for “courage” in the face of the situation.
In their speeches, they also spoke about collective bargaining, wages, occupational health, working hours, public health, pensions, education, and unemployment, as did the second vice president of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz. “Long live Free Andalusia,” she ended her speech before running to stand in front of the banner that opened the march, as did María Jesús Montero, PSOE candidate for the Andalusian Government. Later, Díaz accompanied Antonio Maíllo, leader of Por Andalucía, a coalition of United Left, Sumar, and Podemos, while around them attendees sang “Moreno Bonilla, out of Seville.”
The march took Alameda Principal and Calle Larios in the presence of thousands of tourists — including many cruise passengers — who crowded the historic center during the holiday weekend. Many watched from specialty coffee shops, surprised to see numerous Andalusian flags mixed with others from Palestine and some with rainbow colors. Others asked the police what those banners and chants were about to know when they could take their car out of the parking lot. “I am here to claim the right to housing. There are already many foreigners, and they don’t leave us apartments to rent or buy,” said Vera García, 32, who still lives at her parents’ house despite having a job and carried a banner that said “I take this cardboard to be able to live in a doorway.” “Rents at a thousand euros in working-class neighborhoods and very expensive VPO (protected housing), it’s unsustainable,” insisted Iván Valenzuela, 42, during the demonstration, which combined the demand with a festive atmosphere.
The prominence of the Málaga demonstration reduced attendance at the one held in Madrid, which started at 12:00 to the rhythm of the Valencian band Zoo. Thousands of workers — around 50,000 according to the unions, 3,000 according to the Government Delegation — marched along Gran Vía led by a banner with the slogan against the far right and the high price of housing, especially severe in Madrid. “It’s unbearable. I have a decent salary, about 1,600 euros, but with what I pay in rent, it’s nothing,” laments Eduardo Gómez, a 38-year-old administrative worker who attends the protest with his son.
Childcare workers, healthcare workers, kellys…
The protest in the capital was full of groups of workers from sectors and companies with specific demands. One of the largest was that of early childhood education workers, who will strike on May 7 to demand an improvement in the ratios of the centers, as well as a salary increase. “It’s a shame. We are the support without which many families could not go to work, and they keep us in miserable conditions,” says Paula Pérez, a demonstrator and worker at a childcare center. Near these workers is a group of healthcare workers chanting: “Concession hospital, mistreated staff” and “the Quirón Group leaves us without a kidney.”
Groups and committees of hotel housekeepers (“the kellys it’s not that we can’t, it’s that it’s not possible,” says their banner), delivery workers (“for the improvement of the agreement!”), retail saleswomen (“time to live, voluntary and paid Sundays and holidays”), or banking workers (“stop squeezing the staff!”), among many others, also marched.
Beyond the unions, other groups with labor demands also participated in the protest, such as the State Platform of Primary Caregivers. “Our children have severe multiple disabilities, and we had to leave our careers to dedicate ourselves to care. We are condemned to precariousness, and that is why we ask for rights and more help,” demands the association’s president, Silvina Funes, who carries a banner with a photo of her son Gabriel. Nearby marches Juan Recalde, a retired Peruvian who worked many years in construction. He shouts with a megaphone: “Native or foreigner, the same working class.” “We come to defend the rights of immigrants against so much phobia. We have rights, and that is why we support the regularization of those without papers living here,” he adds.
At the end of the demonstration, Paloma López, general secretary of CC OO in Madrid, warned that “hatred of migrants is class hatred.” “Against their hatred, we defend peace and social cohesion. And that is guaranteed by public services, which the Community of Madrid tries to destroy,” she protested.
“We must defend the public”
Several thousand people defied the rain and marched through the streets of downtown Valencia to celebrate May Day. To the usual slogans for decent employment, the right to housing, or the defense of public services, were added shouts and banners in favor of a wage increase in a record year of business profits and the regulation of immigrants, as well as slogans against the war or against Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
This is how the general secretaries in the Valencian Community of UGT, Tino Calero, and CC OO, Ana García, who led the largest march, expressed themselves. “There are so many things to keep fighting for, for example, against precariousness,” said Raquel Pérez, 50, from UGT. “We must defend the public and all people, including immigrants, of course,” pointed out Juan García, a retiree from CC OO. The Valencian ministers of Science, Diana Morant, and Finance, Arcadi España, marched in this demonstration that preceded those called by the unions CNT, Intersindical, Cos, and CGT. All started from San Agustín square.
With information from Ferrán Bono (Valencia).
