Today, women all across Spain are going on strike; this is the first such strike of its kind in Spain.

The strike, which is part of the International Woman’s Day, is in protest at all kinds of discrimination, from inequality in salaries to sexual harassment in general.

“If we go on strike, the world grinds to a halt,” is the maxim for the strike, but it’s not only taking place in Spain, but all over the world; in 170 countries, to be exact.

You would be wrong to think that there is unanimous support across all the workers unions in Spain, because whereas the smaller national ones such as the CGT and CNT support the strike, the largest two (UGT and CCOO) are calling for just a 2-hour stoppage. The main workers union for administrative workers; i.e., public administrations, are not backing the strike as they claim that it has political hues to it.

Not only are organisers calling on women not to turn up for work, but they are also calling on them to remain at home and not go shopping or any do kind of housework.

This strike is not just about you having to get up off of the couch to get a beer out of the fridge yourself, all you couch-potato husbands, because it also means that schools and public transport, for example, will be affected.

Editorial comment: there is absolutely no excuse, as is presently the case, for a woman to receive 23% less in salary than a male work companion, if she is doing exactly the same job for the same amount of hours. That is just one of the reasons that women are going on strike.

(News: Spain)