News
Fur protests
Members of Anima Naturalis staged
protests against the fur industry outside
stores in Barcelona, Zaragosa and
Valencia during December. They were
naked and covered in fake blood with
one woman holding a plaque reading,
“How many lives for a coat?” The group
says Spain has yet to debate a ban on fur
farms, as has been introduced in several
other EU countries.
Coach theft
A 27-year-old British man was detained
in Benidorm last month after stealing a
coach and driving it at high speed
through the resort. As well as the coach,
around 30 mopeds and cars, including a
police van, were damaged during the
two kilometre late-night rampage. He
was detained and has been charged with
several offences which could result in a
seven-year jail term.
Murderer confesses
A convicted drugs dealer has told police
in Valencia that he murdered a 25-year-
old Spanish woman before
dismembering her and dumping the
body parts in rubbish bins. The
admission sparked a widespread search
of waste plants in the area. Police also
suspect the 37-year-old Colombia may
have knowledge of other unexplained
disappearances.
Fewer babies
The number of babies born in Spain in
2018 was the lowest recorded in the last
20 years. The National Statistics
Institute says the total was 372,777, while
the provisional figure for the first half of
2019 is the lowest since records began in
1941. The statistics also show that 26% of
births in Spain during 2018 were by
Caesarean section, well above the
maximum of 10 to 15% recommended
by the World Health Organisation.
AVLO arrives
Spain’s rail operator, Renfe, plans new
low-cost high-speed rail services from
April. These would reduce the price of a
ticket from Madrid to Barcelona from
its present maximum of €152 to as little
as €10, using trains with fewer facilities,
such as catering, than regular AVE
services. The initiative, known as AVLO
(an anglicised mix of AVE and Low-
cost), will begin ahead of the
liberalisation of domestic rail markets
across the EU, due in December 2020.
US to expand Rota
naval base
The government of Donald Trump
wants to increase its military presence
in Spain. Plans, which cannot be
finalised until Madrid has a permanent
government in place, would see 50 per
cent more American personnel at the
Rota naval base in Cádiz.
The number of Arleigh Burke class of
guided missile destroyers would be
increased from four to six, while
vessels presently at the Rota base
would be upgraded. The US Navy
wants to establish a complete squadron
of destroyers in Spain so that it has at
least four available at all times as part
of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces-
Europe initiative.
The proposals will require a reform of
the relevant bilateral agreement
between Spain and the US which dates
from 1988 and which has been
modified three times since. Madrid
says that the US request has been
studied at a technical level but now
requires approval from the politicians,
although the maximum number of US
citizens permitted to be stationed at
Rota will remain at 4,250 military
personnel and 1,000 civilians.
The US destroyers base in Rota is part
of the NATO missile defence system
which is ready to deal with a potential
attack from Iran or North Korea. It also
acts as a deterrent to Russia by
patrolling the Black Sea and
intervening in the conflict in Syria as
required.
The right to a Christmas
Hamper
Spain’s Supreme Court ruled last
month that workers are entitled to a
Christmas Hamper as a gift from their
employer. The decision came after
judges considered the case of Fujitsu
Technology Spain which suspended
the annual perk between 2013 and 2016
during the period of the country’s
serious economic crisis.
While the first year’s suspension could
be regarded as a response to austerity -
which, the court acknowledged, was
not protested by unions representing
the workers - judges ruled that the
company did not have the right to
strike off the provision of a hamper
indefinitely. Employees, they argued,
had come to expect to receive the
hamper at Christmas, which means it
had become an acquired right. The
court ordered Fujitsu to distribute the
hamper corresponding to 2016 as
compensation to its 1,600 employees
for the breach of trust.
The ruling read that, “given the
repetition over time of its delivery to
12
the entire staff”, the annual perk was “a
beneficial condition of the labour
contract which cannot be considered
merely an act of generosity on the part
of the company”. However, they
cautioned that the ruling did not
automatically mean all companies
must give their workers a hamper at
Christmas.
Hotel takeovers
European tour operator TUI says it is
taking over 135 hotels previously
owned by Thomas Cook following the
travel company’s collapse. Amongst
these are 22 hotels on the Canary
Islands and six new hotels on the
Balearics, plus others in Egypt, Turkey,
Greece and Mexico. The Thomas Cook
name has been purchased by a Chinese
company which owned a major stake
in the failed operator.
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