Around Spain, 5.3 million people have joined today's International Women's Day strike. The number was announced by country's two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, who described the day as a "strike without precedents in the history of the union movement in Spain". In a statement they say that the standstills of two hours per shift, as they had proposed, have been observed by "the main companies of industry, the service sector and the public administration" and that the numbers "make clear" the errors of certain political spokespeople rushing to express opinions on the strike.
"Tens of thousands of union members and workers have demanded an end to the wage gap, to job insecurity and violence against women, and have called on public powers, political parties and businesses to take measures to correct [these situations]," they say. The two unions also wanted to make it clear that it now remains to be seen what happens from tomorrow on: "now, the most important thing is 9th March and the rest of the days of the year, so the demands of the social movement and the feminist movement can make headway".
Demonstrations around Spain
As the day progresses, gatherings of women are spreading around the country. 2,500 people have gathered in Palma de Mallorca's Plaça de Cort in defence of women's rights. Various groups have spoken, including "las Kellys", a group of hotel cleaners, and female journalists. There have also been events in the capitals of the three provinces of the Spanish Basque Country autonomous community: Vitoria, Bilbao and San Sebastián have seen thousands of women gathering in various places to make their voices heard.
In Valencia, mops in the streets and empty seats in the Parliament
In Valencia, some 200 people have gathered at the city's Estación del Nort to support the strike. Carrying mops, aprons, frying pans and saucepans they unfurled a banner reading "let's hang up our aprons". Early this morning, some hundred women with banners and feminist flags have stopped traffic on the city's main streets, which in the cases of Avinguda d'Aragó and Avinguda de Blasco Ibáñez, has caused notable delays. Avinguda de Targoners, meanwhile, was blocked with a sofa, later removed. According to the police, the protests are taking place without any problems.
Unaffected by the delays are Compromís and Podemos deputies who have joined the 24-hour strike and, as such, haven't gone to today's government question and answer session in the Parliament. On Mònica Oltra's seat was a sign reading "vice-president on strike", although it's not technically true as members of the government cannot officially be on strike. Regardless, like her fellow female ministers, she has cleared her agenda of public engagements. Female PSOE deputies, meanwhile, placed a banner on their seats reading "I stop" when they joined the two-hour standstill called by the large unions.
PP's headquarters in Palma de Mallorca, painted
The front of the Partido Popular's Balearic Islands headquarters in Palma de Mallorca was found this morning to have been covered in graffiti accusing the party of sexism. The party has denounced the act and restated their commitment to the "fight for real equality between men and women".
Picket at Burgos bus shed
A picket of some 40 people has prevented buses leaving their garage in Burgos (Castile and León). Hundreds of people, first thing this morning, were waiting at stops around the city for buses which weren't running.
Banner in Bilbao
A group of women have unfurled a 15-metre-long banner on Bilbao's La Salve bridge, next to the Guggenheim museum. The purple banner reads 8M greba feminista (8th May feminist strike).