News
Prefab classes
The new school year started badly in Rincón de la Victoria as parents protested that their children were being taught in five prefabricated buildings on a sports ground while work on the main building continues . Around 240 of the students at school were kept at home as term began . The regional education authority sought to reassure parents about the safety of the temporary arrangement .
Canadian link
A new rail link bringing containers to Málaga ’ s port from Madrid began last month , as did a new sea route to take them on to Montreal . The arrival of the first 24 containers and their transfer to the Mississagura Express container ship owned by Hapag Lloyd for onward transport to Canada was marked by the unveiling of a commemorative plaque . The movement of containers from Madrid to Montreal via Málaga will now continue on a weekly basis .
Sea cleaning
Rubbish collected in the sea off Vélez- Málaga , Algarrobo , Torrox and Nerja this summer has included 38,780 kilos of inorganic material including discarded plastics and drinks cans . Also collected was over 47,000 kilos of jellyfish , algae and dead fish . The cleaning of the surface waters east of Málaga began on June 15 and ended on September 15 , 2018 , using ten boats and with a budget of € 286,088 .
Leased vehicles
Local police in Vélez-Málaga have renovated their fleet with the acquisition of ten new vehicles . They include an unmarked patrol car , three others with four-wheel traction , and a mini-bus . The vehicles have been leased for four years , with no option for extension or purchase , at a cost of almost € 490,000 .
Granada anniversary
Granada ’ s metro system completed its first year in service last month having carried almost 9.5 million passengers . The average on a working day was 29,250 people . The 15.9 kilometre tram line runs east from Albolote to cross the Genil river , and then turns south to Armilla , with 26 stops en route including those at the city ’ s bus station , university and technology park .
Ryanair ’ s miserable summer of strikes
As Soltalk went to press , plans were still in place for a strike by Ryanair cabin crew in Spain on September 28 . The airline was promising no “ general travel disruption ” and “ no airline chaos ,” as its summer of on-going staff protests continued .
According to the Spanish employees ’ unions , USO and SITCPLA , its members were expected to be supported by similar action in Portugal , Italy , Belgium and The Netherlands , and they say further strikes will be called unless and until the airline agrees to negotiate .
The action was called following an earlier stoppage in September by Ryanair staff in Germany which led to 44 flights into and out of Spain being cancelled . Two days of industrial action in July by Ryanair cabin crew in Spain , Portugal , Italy and Belgium was followed by action by pilots in Germany and Ireland .
Politics boil over in the summer heat
The Spanish political scene this summer has become embroiled in accusations and counter-claims about the academic qualifications of some of its leading members . Events of recent weeks follow the resignation of former Health Minister Carmen Monton after accusations of plagiarism and other irregularities in obtaining her Masters degree .
Now , Spain ’ s new socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez is in the firing line . The new row was triggered by the right-wing newspaper ABC which splashed the headline “ Pedro Sánchez plagiarised his doctoral thesis ” on its September 12 front page . It alleged that most of the work was written by noted economist Carlos Ocaña who immediately denied the claim . However , Ocaña confirmed that he and Sánchez had collaborated on a book , “ The New Spanish Economic Diplomacy ,” in which parts of the PhD
The unions say that issues include poor pay and working conditions , and a refusal to comply with the employment laws of the countries in which the airline operates . They add that Ryanair ’ s refusal to recognise unions , and threats of discipline against those join who join them , is effectively breaching an employee ’ s right to strike which is enshrined in law .
A spokesman for the airline described the on-going dispute as “ unnecessary ” and causing “ minimal ” flight disruption .
Meanwhile , a judge in Tenerife last month ruled that a former Ryanair pilot should have been considered an employee and not an independent contractor . While Ryanair has vowed to appeal the ruling , the pilot ’ s lawyer said he is preparing new lawsuits for other Ryanair pilots for alleged violations of Spanish labour and tax laws .
were included . “ The book was based largely on the president ’ s thesis , and I only wrote parts of some of the chapters ,” Ocaña explained .
For his part , Sánchez has announced legal action for libel against ABC , which says it does not intend to change one word of the original article and would be interested to see the president ’ s evidence to support this action . The thesis has been under scrutiny by journalists in the library at the Camilo José Cela University in Madrid and Sánchez has given permission for it to be published .
The university says it conducted a thorough review of the internal and external processes used to evaluate of the thesis presented by Sánchez 2012 , and has confirmed their “ complete normality ... in line with legislation in force and the habitual verification and control protocol ” of the institution .
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