Abstract
When Zapatero was reelected to head a second Socialist Party (PSOE) government in 2008, there was no reason to doubt that the cooperative atmosphere that had dominated the relationship between unions and the government during his first term would continue. In fact, the economic crisis that manifested itself about the same time appeared to strengthen rather than undermine social dialog between the government and unions. However, Zapatero’s commitment to overcoming the crisis through concertation was questioned when negotiations on labor market reforms failed and the government announced unilateral reforms against vehement union opposition, leading to a general strike on September 29, 2010. Zapatero’s second government thus illustrates that union inclusion in policymaking remained contingent rather than institutionalized and that the patterns developed during the earlier years of Spanish democracy were thus continued rather than reformed. Furthermore, it is not just economic factors that shape the relationship between unions and the government, but also electoral factors and the strength of the government. Underlying issues and problems in the area of labor market policies remained unaddressed during Zapatero’s administration, and the current conservative Popular Party (PP) government faces similar issues.
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© 2013 Bonnie N. Field and Alfonso Botti
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Hamann, K. (2013). The Relationship between Unions and Zapatero’s Government: From Social Pacts to General Strike. In: Field, B.N., Botti, A. (eds) Politics and Society in Contemporary Spain. Europe in Transition: The NYU European Studies Series. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137306623_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137306623_7
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