–

People, some waving flags of the CCOO union, take part in a protest march against the government new labour reform in Barcelona on February 19, 2012. Hundreds of thousands of people, many waving red and white union flags, protested across Spain today against sweeping labour market reforms that make it easier to slash pay and lay off workers. Spain’s two biggest unions, the CCOO and UGT, organised protests in 57 cities against the reforms which Spain’s new conservative government argues are needed to revive the economy and slash a jobless rate of 22.85 percent, the highest in the developed world. AFP PHOTO / JOSEP LAGO