(20 Jun 2002)
1. High view of main union march against benefit cuts
2. High pan across tens of thousands in crowd
3. Ground shot of march beginning
4. Strikers waving banners
5. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Vox pop, striker:
"I don't want to hear that this is a strike against Spain. It is a strike against the government of Aznar. It is a strike against Aznar."
7. Low shot of marchers moving down road
8. Protesters with banners chanting outside lingerie shop which is guarded by police
9. Various of woman in shop looking anxious
10. Group of policemen with riot helmets
11. Various of hundreds in anarchist march chanting and waving black and red flags
Early morning Shots
Seville Bus station
12. Poster calling for general strike
13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Cendido Mendez, local UGT leader
"We are determined to make sure that no buses run today. We will achieve total success with this strike."
14. Strikers stopping bus
15. Various of strikers and police outside bus station
Day Shots
Seville train station
16. Various of Seville train station empty
17. Notice board showing all train destinations saying cancelled
18. Would-be passenger sitting alone on platform
Seville Airport
19. Deserted passenger terminal
20. Empty ticket counters
21. Notice board showing total cancellation
Site of European Union summit venue
22. Various of police security guarding summit site
STORYLINE:
In Spain, tens of thousands of workers marched though the centre of Seville on Thursday in the climax of a nationwide general strike.
Spanish workers are protesting cuts in unemployment benefits, which Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's government passed by decree last week.
March organisers believe the move will chip away at fundamental rights as the reforms would eliminate salary payments currently made to Spanish workers who have been fired but are appealing the decision in court.
They would also curtail payments to temporary farm workers and cut off payments to unemployed people who repeatedly turn down jobs the government finds for them.
The stoppage was the first in Spain in nearly a decade, aimed at embarrassing conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as he prepares to host a European Union summit in Seville on Friday.
Anarchists and extreme left-wing protesters staged a separate protest which although peaceful was rowdier and monitored by flanks of armed police.
Workers set up picket lines across the country to hand out leaflets explaining the one-day stoppage and in Seville airport, bus and train terminals were deserted leaving tourists and locals stranded.
As day broke around the country, unions claimed success while the government insisted disruptions were minimal.
The strike, the first since 1994, poses the stiffest challenge from unions since Aznar took power in 1996.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
