9 Jun, 2010 @ 10:44
1 min read
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Spain strike confusion

SPAIN’S unions and the government are at loggerheads over how many civil servants went on strike yesterday.

The two largest unions insisted that up to 75 per cent of the country’s 2.3m public sector workers did not turn up for work.

But the government claims that only 11 per cent of its employees stayed away – although its figures only included central offices.

“Why should we pay for the worldwide financial crisis?”

Regional administration offices or public services were not included in the official breakdown.

Hundreds of public sector workers gathered outside Madrid’s Economy Ministry brandishing red union flags.

“Why should we pay for the worldwide financial crisis?” said Maria Zaragoza, a civil servant.

Across the country, more than a third of airport workers joined the strike while many buses and regional train services were either delayed or cancelled.

Furthermore, some hospitals only treated emergency cases and the nation’s courts were closed.

Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)

Jon Clarke is a Londoner who worked at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as an investigative journalist before moving to Spain in 2003 where he helped set up the Olive Press.

After studying Geography at Manchester University he fell in love with Spain during a two-year stint teaching English in Madrid.

On returning to London, he studied journalism and landed his first job at the weekly Informer newspaper in Teddington, covering hundreds of stories in areas including Hounslow, Richmond and Harrow.

This led on to work at the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Mirror, Standard and even the Sun, before he landed his first full time job at the Daily Mail.

After a year on the Newsdesk he worked as a Showbiz correspondent covering mostly music, including the rise of the Spice Girls, the rivalry between Oasis and Blur and interviewed many famous musicians such as Joe Strummer and Ray Manzarak, as well as Peter Gabriel and Bjorn from Abba on his own private island.

After a year as the News Editor at the UK’s largest-selling magazine Now, he returned to work as an investigative journalist in Features at the Mail on Sunday.

As well as tracking down Jimi Hendrix’ sole living heir in Sweden, while there he also helped lead the initial investigation into Prince Andrew’s seedy links to Jeffrey Epstein during three trips to America.

He had dozens of exclusive stories, while his travel writing took him to Jamaica, Brazil and Belarus.

He is the author of three books; Costa Killer, Dining Secrets of Andalucia and My Search for Madeleine.

Contact jon@theolivepress.es

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