Tourists clash with locals in Valencia, Spanish opposition slams ‘fiscal suffocation’ of self-employed workers, Serena Williams to receive Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award and more news on Tuesday October 21st.
PP leader slams ‘fiscal suffocation’ of self-employed workers
Spanish opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has lashed out at the economic policy of the ruling Socialists, in particular the “tenth increase in contributions of self-employed workers” and the “fiscal suffocation” of all workers in Spain.
This comes after the PSOE announced it would again increase social security payments for autónomos in 2026, although now they appear to have spared low earners.
The Popular Party leader says that the Socialists’ current tax management “is a political and moral error” and argued that “if money is managed well, taxes can be lowered.”
In this regard, Feijóo reiterated his promise to review and lower the 97 tax increases approved in recent years by Pedro Sánchez’s government, if he reaches power that is.
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Spain plans changes to unfair dismissal rules
The Spanish government is looking to negotiate with the country’s leading trade unions the reform of the current regulation on unfair dismissal in Spain to bring it into line with the European Social Charter.
The unions are demanding that compensation for unfair dismissal cover the damages caused to the victim by said despido improcedente (as it’s called in Spanish) and that it discourage employers from carrying out this type of sacking.
They argue that these “must take into account moral damages and harm to the worker.”
In its resolutions condemning Spain, the European Social Charter established that the maximum compensation limits set by Spanish law “are not sufficiently high to repair the harm suffered by the victim in all cases and to be a deterrent for the employer.”
Serena Williams to receive Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award
American tennis star Serena Williams is to receive Spain’s Princess of Asturias Prize for Sports in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo on Thursday.
The 43-year-old now retired player will be given the prestigious award for her legendary career, having won 73 career singles titles including 23 Grand Slams.
The awards ceremony is presided over by Spain’s Princess Leonor, and includes eight annual prizes covering different areas, including arts, literature, science and other fields.
Tourists clash with locals in Valencia
Valencia’s overtourism problem has been brought to the fore after a group of Dutch tourists on bikes were booed and apprehended by pedestrians on a narrow street in the eastern city’s old town for taking up too much space.
A video of the incident, where locals are seen shouting “Get out, get out!” and “Go home!” at the holidaymakers and throwing one bike on the ground, has since gone viral online.
The tourists wanted to cross through the narrow street while a protest was taking place over a neighbour’s eviction, showcasing how tensions are running high at a time when many locals are getting priced out of Valencia, and mass tourism is seen as one of the root causes of this.
