The rubbish collection workers in Jerez de la Frontera are on strike because the private firm that employs them, Urbaser, is planning to sack 30% of the workforce. This is the result of Jerez Ayuntamiento cutting Urbasur's contract by 20%; Urbasur are passing the entire amount of the cuts onto their employees.

Rubbish hasn't been collected for 20 days (except for schools and hospitals) and there are 3,000 tonnes of it in the streets. Local people have been setting fire to containers as a protest, and the fire services are struggling to cope.

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http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/mol-hg2753-39


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El País has a superb article on Jerez.

“Anybody working in the public sector - or for a company that depends on the public sector - is either on strike, has been on strike, or is likely to be very soon. From one month to the next they have no idea whether they will be paid, or even if they will be left with a job”

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/11/21/...14_212572.html

It's tragic - such a beautiful city, lots of very wealthy people live there, the moto racing and sherry bodegas bring in loads of tourists, and yet there are little boys trapping birds for their mothers to feed them with.

I'll be honest, I've clicked on the link three times now and I'm just not sure why you posted it.

I was chatting to a mate about Spain the other day, he is completely anti Strike and he knows my feelings about strike action in the UK but I just could not condemn the Spanish for their strike actions at the moment, here in the UK we have a well built safety net, many in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece simply don't have it! My old man was right, the older I get the more Socialist I become!

Tragic it surely is and unbelievable it could have been left long enough to get into such a state without someone in authority taking drastic action.
Surely a serious public health risk as well, though just as well it's not mid-summer.
Maybe time to call in the military. They have their own mechanical shovels and trucks or else could commandeer the basura fleet which is obviously just standing idle.
After all, it surely is an emergency situation.

But the military would have to be paid to do it, surely? The government would just send the bill to the ayuntamiento, and add to their debt!

They must surely be on a wage of some sort already plus their keep, though I believe it's the case with the UK Military to give them extra when dealing with difficult situations mainly in unstable areas of the world, but I haven't a clue if the Spanish do likewise.
I recall the UK millitary were on standby during the firemens strike quite a few years ago, though I can't recall if they were actually used.

Me too.

Some frightening, shocking statistics there.
If that is the way Spain is heading as El Pais suggests, then it's on the way to being a third world country.
It's going to need massive EU funding to pull things around which it's unlikely ever to be able to repay and could well bring down the whole dodgy EU house of cards on it's own, regardless what happens elsewhere.

Only whilst on operational deployments (i.e Iraq, Afghanistan etc)are the military paid any extra (in the form of an Operational Allowance), not whilst deployed on assistance such as; the Foot & Mouth Disease outbreak in 2001, the national fire strike in 2002-03, the Cumbria floods in 2005 and 2009, Yorkshire and Gloucestershire in 2007, and the 'Big Freeze' in 2010, these are all "just" helping out.....


Yes they were, in 2002, some units had post operational leave (POTL) cancelled after six months in Bosnia to cover for the fire strike (we also covered for the fire strike in 1977!).

Let's hope nobody needs a neurologist, looks like most will be packing up and leaving.
http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1654...isis-recortes/

So the old Green Godesses were called into action.
I wonder if there's still any left, they must be museum pieces by now.
On the other hand I doubt if there'll be funds available for new ones.

The older i get the more right wing i become. At age 12 years, Draco was my hero!