Trade unions ELA, LAB, CCOO, ESK and Steilas have pointed out that the strike called for Tuesday in the public sector of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa has had a major impact. They explain that the current one has been monitored more broadly than the two previous calls, and that "having seen the scratch", they have been strengthened to negotiate with the Basque Government.

Unemployment has been noted mainly in education, but also in public transport, in the EiTB radio and television networks and in municipal and foreign administrations. For example, in the case of non-university education, the monitoring has been 65%, according to these unions, and in some centres they have made the activity virtually complete. On the other hand, dozens of municipalities have closed libraries, sports and other public services. In addition, at the headquarters of EiTB in Miramón, the strike was supported by 80% and in Eusko Tren and the Bilbao Metro a "comprehensive monitoring" was measured.

At midday demonstrations were held by the trade unions in the capitals and, according to the organization, some 30,000 people met under the slogan Public Services, agreeing here salaries and employment.

This is the third major strike in the public sector in Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. Workers' representatives state that in recent years they have suffered a significant loss of purchasing power and demand a wage increase of 10%. In addition, they call for an end to the privatisation and provisionality of public services, while at the same time the workloads are speeded up and a step of 32 hours a week is taken.

Government joins "injured" by strike

Basque Government spokesman Bingen Zupiria has acknowledged at a press conference after the Governing Council that the strike has affected various educational centres and transport services and has joined the "affected people and families". Zupiria has reiterated that the Government does not share the reasons for the strike by public employees.

Olatz Garamendi, Minister for Public Governance of the Basque Government, also spoke in the same direction. "In the face of allegations of precariousness or privatization of the public sector", the counsellor recalled the calls for the last year of the creation of new public jobs and the consolidation of plazas, in an interview with the private radio chain Onda Vasca. On public radio throughout the day, only music by strike has been heard.

"Citizens and workers are angry"

"In October we were told that there was no reason to strike," explains the head of the LAB Public Services Federation. Today Olatz Garamendi has done the same, but with a small mouth, because he knows that the population and workers are angry with the quality of public services."

The unions consider that this third call will force the Basque Government and the other public institutions to strengthen public services, and add that the negotiation of the Spanish State's General Budgets can be a good opportunity to "eliminate the vetoes of Madrid".