Self-employed workers from various parts of the country participated in the demonstration called on Sunday in Madrid by the “Platform for the Dignity of the Self-Employed” organization, whose coordinators shouted against the “injustice” experienced by this group, which feels like a “massacre” despite being “the pillar of Spain.” “They are squeezing us like lemons and we can’t take it anymore. The lemons are completely dry,” said Carmen Corridor, one of the march’s coordinators, adding that if managements continued not to listen, the protests of self-employed workers would continue “with greater concentrations or even strikes.”
Under slogans such as “If the self-employed person disappears, Spain disappears”, “If I do not work, I will not receive my salary but I will continue to pay” or “If the self-employed person gets sick, he cannot stop: the fee owes him”, and chants such as “This quarter we will not pay”, the march took place.
“None of us know each other,” explained Raul García, one of the coordinators of the networked demonstration that set “a strict mourning for businesses that close their doors” as a dress code. “A group was formed in one month and we are witnessing an incredible friendship.”
A. was also established The Ten Commandments of Good Practice In which “absolute respect for all people” was demanded, “insults, exclusion or offensive chants towards institutions, parties, groups or individuals” were prohibited.
But some demonstrators ignored the instructions of the program – which defines itself as independent of parties, unions or external interests – and chanted slogans directed against Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The protest spirit of those in attendance – who are generally self-employed in small businesses (there was no shortage of sectors such as, for example, selfie: hairdressers, barber shops and beauty salons), according to the coordinators – was felt during the march, which began in the central Plaza de España. Then he headed towards the Royal Palace in Madrid, where he met groups of people who were heading to the march called by the leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Nuñez Viejo, against the executive branch in the corruption cases involving José Luis Albalos, Koldo García, and Santos Cerdán.
Already in Puerta del Sol, the program read a statement containing the main demands of this movement, which calls for the adjustment of quotas according to real monthly income as well as the simplification of bureaucracy and the end of “incomprehensible” language. It also calls for comprehensive reform to stop the activity; Social protection is equivalent to that enjoyed by wage workers; Medical leave or family care alternatives with reduced contributions; The right to mourn, and the freedom to pay in cash.
Demonstrations in other parts of Spain
The one that took place in Madrid was one of twenty demonstrations called for by the recently created platform on Sunday in cities such as Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao or Seville.
“This is the beginning. Everything is moving at the Spanish level and we will continue to move forward until we are heard in some way,” stressed coordinator Raul García, who insisted that what the self-employed are seeking is recognition of their rights and protection “to some extent” in the law.