A Few Whiffs

One of the fundamental principles of Franco Spain has been that labor and management were both part of one big happy family--and, therefore, that all strikes were illegal. Last week the principle was put to a merciful death. At the instigation of the government, Spain's 601-member national Cortes (Parliament) restored to labor the right to strike for higher wages. "A difference of interests is inevitable," admitted Luis Gomez de Aranda, who pushed the bill through on behalf of the government.

In a sense, the right-to-strike law is only an admission of the facts of life. Spurred by the nation's increased prosperity and the need to keep up with rising prices, the Spanish labor force has been growing in power and audacity. A series of wildcat strikes this year ended only when the government bowed to the workers' demands for more pay.

The new law has its limitations. Transport workers and civil servants are still forbidden to strike, and the government can still ban any walkout by declaring that its motivation is "political." But the measure is unquestionably a major step forward, and it brought a few whiffs of other new freedoms. For the first time, Spain's censored press was permitted to follow the bill as it went through the parliamentary machinery. There was even discussion of its provisions on television. And, unlike the rubber-stamp parliaments of old, this year's session gave the bill a thorough going-over. For six weeks the bill was before a study committee, was then passed on to the Justice Committee, which reworded it. One old-guard Falangist, charging that the bill was "unconstitutional," tried to get it thrown out. Fifteen other legislators wanted to tack on amendments that would strengthen workers' rights even more. And, when the measure finally reached the floor, 35 members actually voted against it--because they thought it did not go far enough.

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