May Day marches call for equality on 40th anniversary

LABOUR Day marches across Spain have been 'more feminist than ever' and also much older, as pensioners joined in to to call for pay rises after six years of getting no more than the legal minimum of 0.25% every January.

Spain's largest two unions, the Labourers' Commissions (CCOO) and General Workers' Union (UGT) led the various processions across the country's main towns and cities, including the biggest of all in Madrid, which attracted 12,000 followers based upon the organisers' estimates or 4,000 according to the provincial government.

Starting out fro the Plaza de Neptuno at noon, they carried banners and chanted, calling for greater equality, liveable wages and pensions, and job security.

They were joined by national leaders of left-wing political parties, including Pedro Sánchez of the socialists (PSOE), Pablo Iglesias of Podemos and Alberto Garzón of United Left.

Centre-right Ciudadanos' pension spokesman Sergio del Campo and MP for Madrid Victoria Alonso also took part.

Staff from the logistics centre of budget Swedish clothing chain H&M made up a cluster of the demonstrators, since they are currently staging strikes over pay.

This year marked the 40^th anniversary of the first legal May Day march in Madrid, in 1978, although the tradition worldwide has only been set in stone since 1989.

Málaga, Huelva, Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, Girona and Tortosa (Tarragona province) also saw thousands fill their streets today, and this year's marches also included protests against the lenient sentence for five men who gang-raped an 18-year-old girl two years ago in Pamplona – know as 'La Manada', or 'The Herd', they have been acquitted of rape and convicted of sexual abuse, which carries a much lighter custodial term.

The march in Palma de Mallorca only lasted a few minutes, having to be called off at 13.00 due to torrential rain that forced demonstrators to run for cover.