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Thousands protest in Spain against pension reform plan

24 February 2010 01:07 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Tens of thousand of people across Spain protested Tuesday against the debt-laden government’s plan to raise the age of retirement, first major protests by unions against the ruling Socialists, APA reports citing AFP.

The country’s two largest unions, the UGT and the CCOO, called rallies in several major cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, with others protests planned in the rest of the country until March 6.

About 84 percent of people oppose the plan to raise the legal retirement age from 65 to 67, according to recent opinion poll published in the newspaper El Pais.

The controversial proposal, announced last month by the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, would be introduced in stages over several years.

It aims to ensure that the social security system remains viable amid a rapidly ageing population.

In Madrid more than 70,000 people took part, in Barcelona 50,000, according to the unions. Police in Barcelona estimated 20,000 people took part while the authorities in the Spanish capital refused to give an estimate.

These were the first major protests against the socialist government since they came to power in 2004.