Rubbish piles up in Madrid as refuse collectors strike
- 10 years ago
Mounds of trash are blocking Madrid's narrow streets... as a strike by the city's garbage collectors enters its fifth day.
Some 6,000 outdoor maintenance workers joined the walk-out at midnight tuesday....after their employers proposed slashing salaries by up to 40 percent and laying off more than 11 hundred people.
As the garbage piles up, resident Marivi Escudero says the city needs a solution.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) MADRID RESIDENT MARIVI ESCUDERO SAYING:
"I would like them to reach a cordial agreement, for the unions, the companies, and the mayor to look after the well-being of everybody."
Public sector cuts have done nothing to ease severe unemployment, which has risen to record levels of more than 26 percent.
Almost a third of all the unemployed in the 17-country euro zone live in Spain.
Some 6,000 outdoor maintenance workers joined the walk-out at midnight tuesday....after their employers proposed slashing salaries by up to 40 percent and laying off more than 11 hundred people.
As the garbage piles up, resident Marivi Escudero says the city needs a solution.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) MADRID RESIDENT MARIVI ESCUDERO SAYING:
"I would like them to reach a cordial agreement, for the unions, the companies, and the mayor to look after the well-being of everybody."
Public sector cuts have done nothing to ease severe unemployment, which has risen to record levels of more than 26 percent.
Almost a third of all the unemployed in the 17-country euro zone live in Spain.