faetal on 30/3/2012 at 12:49
The flame in the last picture is beautiful.
Great work.
Al_B on 30/3/2012 at 18:30
All those photos are extremely well shot - I particularly like the use of focus on the second one.
I don't agree with the violence with those protests (and it's good to hear that most others are peaceful) but Spain does seem to be in a very difficult situation. I know the changes to the law are unpopular but I hope that they do actually allow employers to be more willing to take on employees.
demagogue on 30/3/2012 at 19:54
That's the whole irony of it of course. The policy is making it easier for employers to actually hire people that were otherwise getting abandoned by the system altogether at the cost of more skilled people that only see it being about themselves (a little selfishly). I don't think there's any Platonically right way to ever set that balance between unskilled & semi-skilled labor, and there's reasons to think investing in the unskilled over the semi-skilled (and encouraging the end of "career tracks" generally) isn't a great thing for an economy in the long run. But it's important you don't just abandon entire blocs of your workforce either. They're in the most vulnerable position of all, and having the semi-skilled get so frustrated they want to burn cars or something because unskilled people are finding it easier get work just seems ... a little selfish & insensitive? Why don't they just arrange their burning flotsam to say "Romanians & Moroccans go home so we don't have to lose our jobs to cater to you" while they're at it?
Cool photos though.
Edit: Sorry, "Rumanos y marroquíes van a casa por lo que no tiene que perder nuestros puestos de trabajo para atender a usted."
Al_B on 30/3/2012 at 20:16
Quote Posted by demagogue
"Romanians & Moroccans go home so we don't have to lose our jobs to cater to you" while they're at it?
Well, that wouldn't work with Romania for a start because they're a member state of the EU and are entitled to work in any other member state in the EU (including Spain). The same shouldn't apply to Morocco and in theory first preference should be given to EU workers.
As an outsider to Spain, part of the problem seems to be that the large scale construction that was going on during the last decade was unsustainable. It's affected Eire (Southern Ireland) in similar way a couple of years ago and I hate to simplify things to this extent but it seems like the case of another economic bubble that's burst.
I do sympathise with those who feel let down by the situation - and I realise there's no simple answer.
june gloom on 30/3/2012 at 22:13
Credit where it's due -- great photos! Particularly love the blue in the 2nd-to-last pic. Also like the close-up of the cops -- it looks like you snapped them right before they had to react to something, and the one in the background seems to be a little bit faster on the take than the one in the foreground.
Shug on 31/3/2012 at 02:07
Great shots, must have been a rush in the midst of that.
Martin Karne on 1/4/2012 at 00:15
Is part of the movement "nimileuristas", can be loosely translated as "not even a 1000 euros", usually young people that can barely afford to live with 800 or so euros.
rachel on 1/4/2012 at 13:33
Thanks all :)
Demagogue, it's a little more complicated than "hiring unskilled vs. hiring skilled". It's stuff like for example being able to fire you if I think my company will have lower revenues in the next three months, even if I'm still making a profit. Or being able to decrease your pay or changing your working hours at will, and it's what I say or the door. All sorts of details like that... This just doesn't fly and people are pretty pissed about it. Bit by bit, they're giving all the power to management and leaving very little leverage for the workers.
Pyrian on 2/4/2012 at 19:38
Quote Posted by demagogue
The policy is making it easier for employers to actually hire people...
Fire. It's making it easier to
fire people. The goal being to drive down wages. Of course it's unpopular.
The line of reasoning is pretty easy to see - drive down wages, thereby increasing global competitiveness, profit! But said "profit" isn't going to be for the workers involved, even if it works. And since wage stickiness is not so easily dispelled (as I understand it, evidence of its existence predates any sort of worker protections), it's not at all clear that it will work.
What I see as ironic is that even if it
does work, it won't solve the fundamental balance sheet problem, as the taxes on the reduced wages won't suffice.
