Tourist spending in Spain

Foreign tourists spent 6.6% less in July 2009

According to a survey on tourist spending published by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce not only did the number of foreign tourists visiting Spain go down this summer but they also spent less. Figures from the survey show that foreign tourists in Spain spent 6.164 million euros in July which 6.6% less compared to July 2008.
These figures are partly down to the fact that the number of visitors from the UK has gone down and those that have come to Spain for their holidays have spent less. There were 17.7% fewer British tourists in July this year compared to July 2008 and they spent 1.488 million euros. German tourists who make up the second largest group of foreign tourists spent 973 million euros in July which is 7.5% less than in July 2008.

On the other hand, visitors from France, the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland) and Italy increased their spending by 4.6%, 10.2% and 8.1% in July this year compared to July 2008.

The average amount that tourists spent in July this year remained the same as July 2008 (931 euros) which is only a slight fall (0.3%) compared to July 2008. However, the amount tourists spent per day was 90 euros which is 3.7% less than in July 2008.
The only regions which saw a rise in tourist spending were Valencia (652 million euros) and Madrid (590 million euros): 2.8% and 9.3% more than in July 2008.

Recession in Spain

Yesterday José Manuel Campa, the Secretary of State for the Economy, claimed that the Spanish economy is fairing better than its EU neighbours and that the government is confident that the worst of the recession is over. The latest figures show that the Spanish economy has shrunk by 4.2% compared to the average shrinkage of 4.6% in other euro zone economies.

However, other important EU economies - France and Germany - have already showed signs of economic recovery while it is forecast that Spain will have to wait until the second quarter of next year to see signs of recovery.

While the GDP of other EU economies only fell by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2009 the Spanish GDP fell by 1.1% in the same quarter. This means that the Spanish economy has been in recession for a year. The one positive point is that the economy shrank less in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter.

This is the largest fall in the Spanish economy since the National Institute for Statistics (INE) began compiling records in 1970. The figures published by the INE yesterday are worse than those forecast by the Bank of Spain and the INE itself.

And the sharp fall in internal demand over the past year due to the credit crunch and rising unemployement has also hit the Spanish econocmy hard because it represents 60% of all the wealth generated in Spain.

Average salary in Spain

63% of Spanish workers earn less than 1,100 euros a month

According to a study by the Treasury a total of 18.3 million Spaniards earn a gross monthly salary of less than 1,100 euros a month – 63% of the workforce. This is 5% more than the figures from the last study carried out in 2006.

The report was compiled using information provided by workers and pensioners. According to the information given 16.7 million workers receive a gross annual salary of 13,400 euros, while the national average gross annual salary is 18,087 euros.

The study also reveals that currently in Spain around 1.6 million businessmen and women and professionals earn a gross monthly salary of less than 1,100 euros a month – a figure which represents three quarters of the total number of self employed workers in Spain.

Region by region the highest number of low earners (those earning 1,100 euros a month or less) are concentrated in Extremadura, with almost three quarters of its workforce (74%) earning around 1000 euros in their monthly gross salary followed closely by the Canary Islands (69.1%), Galicia (69%), Andalucía (69.9%), Murcia (68.7%) and Castilla- La Mancha (67.4%).

The Comunidad de Madrid has 50.7% of the total number of low earners in Spain (50.7%) followed by the Principado de Asturias (54.8%), Catalonia (55.2%), Aragón (56%), Cantabria (58.4%) and La Rioja (59.3%).

The four most highly populated regions of Spain have 60% of the total number of low earners. Andalucia has 3.4 million followed by Catalonia 2.7 million, Madrid 2.05 million and the Comunidad Valenciana (1.9 million).

In terms of annual salaries workers in Madrid earn the most with an average gross annual salary of 22,870 euros a month followed by Catalonia (20,097 euros), Aragon (18,985 euros), Asturias (18,715 euros) Cantabria (18,530 euros).

On the other hand the lowest gross annual salaries correspond to Extremadura (14,120), Andalucía (15,010 euros), Murcia (15,447 euros) and the Canary Islands (15,545 euros).

Weather forecast for Spain this week

Weather warning for heavy rain in the north of Spain and soaring temperatures in central Spain, the Costa Blanca and the Balearic Islands

The Spanish Meteorological State Agency (AEMET) has issued a high level warning for heavy rain in Navarra and other northern and northeastern provinces this week. It has also warned of extremely high temperatures along the Mediterranean coast Balearic Islands.

In addition to Navarra AEMET believes that up to seven regions will be affected by heavy rain. The 9 provinces at risk are: Guipuzcoa, Huesca, Zaragoza, Teruel, Valencia, Alicante, Albacete, Murcia and the Balearic Islands. According to AEMET there could be as much as 30 mililiters of rainfall in the Pyrenees and some parts of Cantabria.

Up to 18 milliliters of rainfall per hour is forecast for Guipuzcoa and 15 millilitres per hour for Huesca and Zaragoza, where there is also a risk of storms.
On the other hand AEMET has also issued a weather warning for very high temperatures in Castilla-La Mancha, the province of Albacete, where temperatures as high as 37ºC are expected in Hellín and Almansa, the Comunidad Valenciana and in the interior of Mallorca, where it is also expected that temperatures will reach between 36ºC and 37ºC in some parts of the island (eastern and north-eastern parts of the island and the Tratamontana mountain range).

In Aragon it is forecast that temperatures will also rise to 36ºC in Zaragoza, Albarracín and Jiloca near Teruel. AEMET has also forecast that temperatures will reach 36ºC in some areas in Valencia, Alicante and Murcia.

Expats in Costa Blanca, Spain

The number of expat pensioners now make up 23% of elderly population of the province of Alicante

According to a recent report published by the Instituto de Mayores y Servicios Sociales (Imserso) entitled ‘The elderly in Spain 2008’ the number of foreign pensioners over 65 years old living in the province of Alicante has risen by 16,536 over the last 2 years and is still increasing.

In accordance with these figures the province of Alicante has the highest concentration of foreigners over the age of 65 compared to the rest of Spain. In fact there are now 70,000 foreigners over the age of 65 living in this province and this group now makes up 31.4% of the total population of elderly foreigners living in Spain. In 2006 the number of foreigners over the age of 65 years old was 53,536 in Alicante and constituted 29.8% of the population of elderly foreigners living in Spain according to figures for the same report.

In addition the foreign population reached 23% of the total population of elderly people in the province of Alicante which means that one out of every four elderly people in the province is a foreigner while two years ago this proportion was one in every five at just 19% of the total population of elderly. Out of the total number of foreigners living in the province of Alicante those aged 65 years old or over account for 17% of this group.

The figures for Alicante are the highest for the whole of Spain. Malaga is the second most popular province with elderly foreigners who make up 13.9% of the population – less than half the figure for Alicante.

Although the number of foreigners aged 65 years old or more represents just 3% of the total number of elderly people living in Spain (7.5 million) in many municipalities elderly foreigners account for more than 80% of the elderly people in that municipality.

The report mentions in particular Calpe, San Fulgencio, Alfaz del Pi and Teulada, where four out of every five elderly people are foreigners and says that in absolute terms Torrevieja has the highest number of foreigners 65 years old or over with a total of 10,066.

Out of the 70,027 foreigners over 65 years old living in the province of Alicante 68,036 are European, with 61,430 from the EU – the British population is the highest with 31,271 people followed by Germans (13,530), people from The Low Countries (4,623), Belgians (3,841) and the French (2,609).

Foreign elderly people living in the province also live close together according to their nationalities with the British residing mainly in the municipalities of Alfaz del Pi, Calpe, Torrevieja and Teulada and the Germans in Altea, Benissa, Dénia and La Nucía.

ETA hideout discovered in France

ETA hideout in France found with capacity to make more than 100 car bombs

Yesterday two ETA hideouts were discovered in France, one of which, located in Camplong, contained all the materials necessary to make up to 100 car bombs.
As well as the two hideouts discovered yesterday another ETA hideout was also discovered in Ferrières, just a few kilometres from the Spanish-French border containing 100 kilos of amyl nitrate (a key ingredient necessary for making explosives).

In addition, 20 boxes containing electronic devices which had already been set up for use in car bombs (like the last 3 used by ETA which killed a policeman and two civil guards) and the bombs used in the chain of explosions on the island of Mallorca on 9th August were also found.

The hideout in Camplong, 80 kilometres from Montpellier, contained 5 large metal drums. When they were taken away for examination the police believed that they contained explosive material which had already been prepared for use. However this was not the case. In fact they contained 10 kilos of amyl nitrate, 83 detonators, 450 metres of detonating cord, 2,600 cartridges for an 38 calibre revolver, 2 hand guns, a silencer, material used for the chemical manipulation of explosives, a balaclava and a French policeman’s jacket together with mountaineering and communications equipment.

According to anti terrorist sources the most significant finding was the capacity to make more than 100 car bombs, something which agents believe means that ETA was planning to carry out a long campaign of violence involving this type of bomb.
The third hideout was discovered hours later in Hellete, located in the French Basque region. However according to official sources this hideout did not contain any significant materials (documents related to the Basque terrorist organization ETA or explosives).

The 3 suspected ETA terrorists detained in Le Corbier-Villarembert, Aitzol Etxaburu, Alberto Machain and Andoni Sarasola, are now in police custody.
Despite the discovery of these 3 hideouts this week anti terrorist sources believe that this only represents a temporary setback for ETA. However, the whereabouts of larger more significant hideouts remain unknown and it is believed that very few members of ETA know their exact location.

The distribution of the hideouts discovered this week confirm that ETA has established a network located in France over the last 5 years and have opted to use remote mountainous locations in favour of urban ones.

Face transplant in Spain

The first face transplant in Spain took place in La Fe hospital in Valencia between Tuesday afternoon and the early hours of Wednesday morning. According to the Ministry of Health the operation took over 15 hours to carry out and involved a team of 30 doctors and nurses all of which belonged to the public health system except for doctor Pedro Cavadas, who was in charge of the operation, and his small team from the private foundation Pedro Cavadas.

The person who received the transplant was a 43 year old man from the Canary Islands and the donor is said to be a 35 year old man who died in a traffic accident in the province of Valencia. Pedro Cavadas declared that he was satisfied with the results of the operation and said that the next 72 hours would be crucial. He also said that more details would be released in 10 or 12 days time.

Once the donor patient was declared dead the family of the deceased were consulted over the idea of the transplant as is usual in all cases of unexpected death. However, in this particular case doctors had to make sure that the family of the deceased were really sure of what they were agreeing to.

Time, as in all transplant operations, is crucial to the success of the procedure. For example kidney transplants usually take place a day after the kidney is extracted from the deceased patient, the liver has a time limit of 8 hours, lungs or heart just 2. However in the case of a face transplant the time limit is even tighter given the complex nature of the extraction and the little experience of this type of operation.

The Ministry of Health explained that the rareness of this type of operation accounts for the length of time it took to carry out and the high number of personnel involved. However, the actual transplant only involved 2 doctors, Cavadas, and presumably his colleague from the foundation, Luís Landín, supported by 2 other surgeons, several anaesthetists a dozen or more nurses and other auxiliary staff. In addition, many other professionals, including technicians for the National Organization for Transplants, also played an essential role in making the operation possible.

Based on previous experience it is expected that it will take at least 6 months before the patient who received the face transplant can begin any type of normal daily activity and that the rehabilitation period will last 2 years. The patient will also need to take medication for the rest his life in order to reduce the probability of his body rejecting the transplant.

According to Miguel Gutiérrez, the vice chairman for the Spanish Society of Psychiatry, the patient will also require psychological treatment in order to ‘restructure their personality and adapt to a new life with a new face’.

The Spanish society for Reparatory Plastic Surgery believes that around 10 or 12 face transplants could be carried out in Spain every year.

Swine flu in Spain

High number of visitors attributed to the high number of cases of swine flu on the Canary Islands

The first child to die in Spain from swine flu is also the third death on the Canary Islands from the virus. Speaking at a press conference the head of the health service for the Canary Islands, Mercedes Roldós, said that the high number of cases on the island was due to the high number of visitors to the island at this time of year.

She also said there was no specific reason why 3 of the 12 deaths from swine flu in the whole of Spain have occurred on the Canary Islands. However, she admitted that between 2nd and 8th August the prevalence of cases of swine flu was higher in the Canary Islands and Navarra than in the rest of the country.

Roldós said that this week there were 113.31 cases of swine flu on the island for every 100,000 inhabitants which a high figure is given the average for the rest of the Peninsula.

With 3 deaths already from swine flu on the island of Gran Canaria (830,000 inhabitants) the Canary Islands has suffered the second highest number of deaths from swine flu in the whole of Spain. There have been 4 deaths in Valencia, 2 in Madrid and 1 death each in Castilla-La Mancha, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia.
The latest death on the islands was an 11 year old girl who died last night. The girl was admitted to the children’s’ hospital on Gran Canaria on 7th August. However, the head of the hospital said that the girl also suffered from chronic underlying health problems.

Last Wednesday a 30 year old man died in hospital in Gran Canaria after suffering respiratory problems complicated by contracting swine flu. The first death on the Islands which occurred on 9th July was a 41 year old man who also suffered from underlying health problems.

Unemployment benefits in Spain extended

Last week the Spanish government announced the creation of a new subsidy to be made available to people without jobs whose unemployment benefits had run out (unemployment benefits in Spain are issued according to former salary and length of former employment and the maximum period it is paid is two years).

While initial reports suggested that the subsidy would be available to all unemployed, this has not proved to be the case and there have been scenes of general confusion and protests at unemployment offices this week as queues of unemployed were turned away because they did not fulfill the requirements.

Who qualifies for the unemployment aid in Spain?

These are the requirements for those wishing to apply for new financial aid of 421 euros:

Income: Those wishing to apply for the new financial aid of 421 euros per month for a maximum of 180 days must have monthly incomes under 468 euros. If the unemployed person in question lives with their parents, a spouse or children under 26 years the income of all the members of the family will be added together and then divided by the number of members. The end result must not be more than 468 euros.

Date when former unemployment benefits end: In order to be eligible for the subsidy of 421 euros a month your unemployment benefit must have run out. The programme, which came into effect yesterday, is valid for 6 months (until 15th February 2010). This means that those people whose benefits run out between 1st August and 15th February 2010 and fulfill all other requirements can apply for the aid.

Application period: Those people whose benefits run out have 60 days to apply for the financial aid of 421 euros a month. If the application is not made within the 60 period they will lose their rights to receive the aid.

Obligations: The unemployed person who receives the aid must agree to participate in a programme to help them join the workforce again.

Incompatibility: This financial aid is incompatible with any other type of financial aid granted by public bodies.

Extension: The programme is forecast to last six months although this period could be extended by the government depending on circumstances. The government has said that it will renew the programme if the unemployment rate rises above 17%.

Spanish priest advises anti-swine flu peace-giving

Church in Alicante advises its congregation to avoid physical contact when sharing the peace in attempt to prevent the spread of Swine Flu

Yesterday a priest in Alicante advised his congregation to avoid any physical contact such as kissing or shaking hands when greeting fellow members of the congregation during the traditional giving of the peace. His advice is in line with that issued by the Ministry of Health last Friday in an attempt to stop the spread of swine flu.

According to a report in the local newspaper, Diario Informacion, after listening to a sermon dedicated almost entirely to making people more conscious of the need to follow the Ministry of Health’s guidelines the congregation was left somewhat confused when the moment arrived for them to share the peace which is traditionally done by shaking hands or kissing fellow worshipers. Advised by the priest to use the "reverence" method and avoid direct contact, many just nodded their heads at each other in giving and acknowledging the peace, although some could not resist the traditional kissing or shaking hands and one member of the congregation on leaving the church said that he was not going to stop kissing his wife or shaking hands with friends or colleagues despite the Priest's advice. Another member of the congregation suggested that if the Church wanted to take measures to help avoid the spread of the virus, a more effective method could be for the congregation not to have to receive Holy Communion from the hands of the priest but taking the holy bread in their own hands instead.

The Priest of Santa Maria said that his advice was motivated by recent guidelines issued by the Minister for Health, Trinidad Jiménez, as a result of the 14,391 new cases of swine flu registered in Spain last week. However, he also said that the government’s guidelines were somewhat "relative" as they did not include any warnings against "promiscuity amongst the young".

The Priest of the Cathedral of Toledo has also contributed to the debate of how to limit the spread of swine flu among church members, and this weekend he advised his congregation to just touch the Holy Medal of its Sacred Virgin instead of kissing it which is how they usually show their respect.

Weather in Spain this week

13 Provinces on high alert for storms and high temperatures

The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has placed 13 provinces in Spain on high alert for possible storms and high temperatures.

11 provinces are particularly at risk from strong storms if weather forecasts are correct. They are: Caceres, Badajoz, Ávila, Madrid, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Huelva, Jaen, Granada, Cordoba and Seville. Central and southern Spain suffered storms and heavy rainfall earlier this week, causing floods which in some places were so severe that the high-speed train link between Madrid and Sevilla was suspended for two days.

According to Aemet this weekend Cordoba and Sevilla are especially at risk from temperatures as high as 38 degrees and heavy rainfall. All the provinces on alert are located in the central-southern part of Spain. The forecast for central-northern parts of Spain is cloudy.

Temperatures are expected to be ‘significantly high’ in Catalonia, Orense and Badajoz. People are advised to stay out of the sun during the hottest time of the day (between one and five 0'clock), to drink plenty of water and other cold drinks, to avoid alcohol and to stay in the shade as much as possible.

Traditionally this weekend is one of the busiest on Spanish roads - 15th August is a national holiday and many take advantage of this to start or end their holidays. Those who do not have to travel are advised to stay off the roads.

ETA bombs in Mallorca

Spain's Home Office Minister claims that the police are ETA’a main target, not tourists

In a press conference yesterday the Spanish Minister for the Home Office, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, did not rule out any hypotheses about the bombs which exploded on Las Palmas, Mallorca last Sunday.

Rubalcaba confirmed that last Sunday’s bombings on Mallorca, one of Spain’s biggest tourist destinations, consisted of four very small explosive devices each of which contained under half a kilo of explosives.

Rubalcaba attempted to calm tourists’ fears by saying that he did not believe that they are ETA’s main objective. He said that people could feel safe and that he thinks that the Basque terrorist organization is trying to demonstrate its existence. The Spanish royal family who holiday every August at their summer residence in Mallorca have joined local and national government attempts to play down the explosions by going on various walkabouts this week, mingling with the public at several tourist attractions.

The Spanish security forces are continuing their work both in Mallorca and elsewhere and do not know for sure if the terrorists remain on the island or not. However, they are almost certain that six suspected ETA terrorists, whose photos were released recently, remain in Spain working for ETA. Both Mallorca and the rest of Spain remained on maximum alert.

Speed camaras on Spanish roads

The Department of Traffic installs 264 mobile traffic cameras to control 100,000 vehicles per day

Yesterday the Department of Traffic (DGT) began a campaign to control speed limits on many of Spain’s roads by installing 264 mobile speed cameras which are expected to control the speed of up to 100,000 cars a day.

The campaign, which will last until August 23rd, has been presented under the slogan of ‘We all know that if we respect speed limits there will be less accidents on the roads. Why don’t we do it? As part of this campaign over the next 2 weeks DGT will double the number of speed cameras on Spain’s roads to control up to 1.5 million vehicles.

The Civil Guard will place the 264 moblie cameras on 2000 stretches of roads throughout Spain except for in the Basque Country and Catalonia whose regional governments are in charge of controlling their roads.

In 2008, 576 people were killed on Spain’s roads due to excess speed. DGT controlled the speed of 25 million vehicles and 65,000 drivers were reported for breaking the speed limit. DGT insists that a 5% reduction in speed means that there would be 20% less mortal accidents and 10% less injuries.

In 2008 drivers who drove at an inappropriate speed was a factor in a quarter of all mortal accidents.

The start of this new campaign by DGT coincides with the beginning of a new permanent speed camera on the A-6 to Coruña on a stretch of road which is considered to be especially dangerous at the exit of the Guadarrama tunnel travelling towards Madrid.

See also: Roads in Spain and Driving in Spain

Xabi Alonso press conference on arrival to Madrid

Xabi Alonso arrived in Barajas airport yesterday afternoon and told the Spanish media that he was very happy to have left Liverpool to play for Real Madrid in a transfer which cost 30 million euros after a month and a half of tense negotiations between the two clubs and a difficult relationship with Rafa Benítez.

In his first press conference for Real Madrid Alonso said that after a tense year with the Liverpool manager as soon as the British football season finished in May and just before he was due to join the Spanish football team in South Africa he told Benítez he wanted a transfer to another club because he felt that he needed a change and believed that this would be good for him.

However, despite his request Benítez decided not to make it an easy exit and Alonso said that while he tried his best to ensure that his desire to move to Madrid would be respected, he could not be sure that he was going to be allowed to leave Liverpool until the last minute. Yesterday Alonso preferred not be drawn into details about his relationship with Rafa Benitez, saying that they both had a professional relationship – one of player and trainer but nothing more. He added that he preferred to look to the future now rather than analysing the past.

Alonso was received at his first training session for Real Madrid with an ovation from the fans who see him as the key midfielder the club has been missing in its pre-season friendlies. Alonso joins many of his team mates from the Spanish selection who also play for Madrid: Sergio Ramos, Casillas, Albiol and Arbeloa.

The director of Real Madrid, Miguel Pardeza described Xabi Alonso as is a ‘classic player who brings order to a team’ and added that he ‘dominates to perfection the transition from defence to attack’.

Unemployment in Spain falls for third month

Unemployment goes down by 20,794 in best July since 2004

The number of officially unemployed people went down by 20,794 (0.6%) in July compared to June which means that unemployment figures have fallen for the third consecutive month after 14 months of rising figures. It also means that July’s figures are the best since July 2004.

According to the Ministry for Work the total number of unemployed is 3,544,095. The government believes that the positive figures for July are partly down to the success of its ‘Local Investment Plan’ in the construction sector which has already created 407,390 jobs – 46% more than originally forecast – and the seasonal rise in the number of jobs.

Nevertheless, Spain's Minister of Work, Corbacho, warned yesterday that while the figures are encouraging, it is still too early to speak of a change in tendency or to say that the economic crisis is over and that autumn’s figures were not expected to be as positive as those of the last three months. However, he also ruled out the possibility of unemployment reaching 5 million. During the past year 1,117,179 people have become unemployed which represents an annual increase of 46%.

Unemployment went down in July more for men than women. There were 13,638 less unemployed men (-0.8%) in July compared to June while unemployment for women fell by just 7,156 (-0.4%).

Unemployment in the service sector fell by 13,885, in the construction sector unemployment fell by 7,292 and in industry unemployment fell by 6,911. On the other hand, unemployment rose by 650 in the agricultural sector.

The biggest rise in employment was in jobs related to social services and the national health system with 55,096 more people affiliated to the social security system which is 8% and 4.24% more respectively than this time last year. The number of people working in the hotel industry also rose significantly with a rise in just one month of 3.13% although on interannual terms the number of people working in this sector of the economy has fallen by 4.32%. With regards to commerce and vehicle repairs there were 21,555 new workers which represents a monthly rise of 0.94% although on interannual terms the number of people working in these sectors has also fallen by 7.43%.

The education sector saw the biggest job losses at the end of June with 54,772 less workers in July which is a fall of 8.15% from June to July. In the construction industry there were 5,012 less jobs and in the manufacturing industry there were 5,409 less jobs which is a fall of 0.37% and 0.28% respectively.

As far as regional differences are concerned, unemployment went up in July in just four regions headed by Catalonia with 7,664 more registered unemployed and fell in 13 regions mostly in Northern Spain - Galicia (7,381 less), followed by Castilla y León (5,023 less) and Asturias (3,331 less).

A total of 1,403,023 work contracts were registered in July which is 13.7% less than for July 2008. The number of permanent contracts rose last month to 111,143 which is 7.9% of the total but 30.7% less than in July 2008.

Grape picking in France attracts Spanish workers

Increase in Spanish migrant workers travelling to France to work as grape pickers

This year it is estimated that around 13,500 Spaniards will travel to France to work as grape pickers which is 12.5% more than the 12,000 last year according to the Federación Agroalimentaria de la Unión General de Trabajadores (FTA-UGT).

The increase is largely due to the crisis in the building sector. According to the UGT the profile of Spaniards going to pick grapes in France is changing with respect to former years and now tends to be younger, around 35 years old, and with no previous experience in the sector.

According to FTA-UGT the fall in the number of Spanish workers travelling to France to participate in grape picking stopped in 2006 when the olive harvest in Andalucia was very bad and that from this time onwards the number has gradually increased due to the annual fall in production in the construction industry coupled with the economic crisis. Moreover, it says that Spanish workers who had not worked as grape pickers for many years have returned.

FTA-UGT says that the first seasonal workers travel to France at the end of August and stay for around 20 to 25 days, although some groups of workers travel to France earlier and move around different areas staying in total for around 40 days.

However, FTA-UGT stresses the importance of obtaining a work contract before travelling to France to participate in the grape harvest. It also advises workers to use authorized transport.

The salary of these workers depends on their professional category and experience but should not be lower than the professional minimum salary agreed for this type of work which at 8.82 euros an hour is higher than the minimum wage paid to grape pickers working in Spain. A further perk of working as a grape picker in France is the family benefits system. Families with two children under 16 years old receive an extra 123.92 euros a month, a family with 3 children 282.70 euros a month and 158.78 euros for every child after the third one.

The French working week is 35 hours and grape pickers receive 25% more if they work 43 hours a week and 50% more if they work more than 43 hours a week.

Fires on La Palma Canary Island still raging

Forest fire in La Palma continues out of control

The forest fire on the island of La Palma (the Canary Islands) continued out of control yesterday. On Saturday evening dozens of houses and flats which had been evacuated were destroyed by the fire.

The regional authorities believe that so far the fire has destroyed between 1,500 and 2000 hectares of land although within this area some pockets of land could remain intact. Efforts to extinguish the fire currently involve 600 people.

Yesterday the drop in temperatures on La Palma and the change in the direction of the wind gave rise to some optimism. However, the fire still continued out of control last night and has now affected parts of the National Park, Cumbre Vieja.

José Miguel Ruano, speaking on behalf of the government of the Canary Islands gave a press conference last night. He said that the fire which was affecting the southern part of La Palma had been contained since last Friday. However, he also stressed that ‘contained’ was not the same as ‘under control’. Investigations into the causes of the fire were opened yesterday.

The president of the government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, visited the area affected by the fire yesterday to evaluate damage. He announced that government measures would be approved in August to grant financial aid to those affected by the fire which would be in addition to the help provided by the government of the Canary Islands.

Speaking at a press conference Zapatero said that there would be help for those who have lost their houses or those who have lost land to the fire used for agricultural or industrial purposes. Zapatero said that the fire was very serious and that he expected more positive news soon given that efforts to contain it were advancing significantly yesterday.

The government maintained the whole of Spain on high alert of forest fires yesterday especially in the area to the north of Cuenca, Sevilla, the southern part of Guadalajara and Málaga.