12 images Created 6 Jul 2012
Spanish Miners Closing the Road at Pozo Santiago
A coal miner's strike in Spain took a violent turn in recent days as law enforcement officials and strikers clashed in the mining areas of Asturias and León. About 8,000 miners have been striking since late May over fears that the government's planned subsidy cuts to the mining sector will result in lost jobs. The proposed cuts are part of larger austerity measures to reduce the national deficit. The miners argue that the government is targeting the working class while bailing out the country's big banks.
There are around 40 mines in the country, mainly in the north, where they offer vital jobs in an increasingly depressed economy. The end of the subsidy will effectively mean the end of those jobs, as Spanish coal prices will increase beyond those of imported alternatives. The strikers view winning the strike as essential to their livelihoods. It is increasingly becoming a set-piece battle as the government deepens its austerity program
There are around 40 mines in the country, mainly in the north, where they offer vital jobs in an increasingly depressed economy. The end of the subsidy will effectively mean the end of those jobs, as Spanish coal prices will increase beyond those of imported alternatives. The strikers view winning the strike as essential to their livelihoods. It is increasingly becoming a set-piece battle as the government deepens its austerity program
