DELPHI PROTESTER INJURED BY RUBBER BULLET

Two protesters were injured following a police charge against the former employees of the Delphi plant in Puerto Real. The incident occurred last Tuesday after an egg was thriwn at the police outside the headquarters of the PSOE in Cádiz.

As the demonstrations were taking place in the street, inside the building union representatives and the provincial secretary of the PSOE, Francisco González Cabaña, were meeting with the Department of Employment of the Junta de Andalucía.

At the gates of the headquarters, five members of the National Police were watching close to five hundred former employees who were waiting at the door of the PSOE Headquarters. For the most part the demonstration was a good tempered affair with just a few of the former workers demonstrating their displeasure vocally at PSOE politicians. However one then threw an egg which, although aimed at the police, missed its target impacting on the wall of the building.

The police, despite being outnumbered, decided to charge the protesters. Within minutes, several riot police patrols then appeared in the area which appeared to ignite a battle in the city streets.

While the agents fired rubber bullets the protesters responded by throwing chairs and tables from the terraces of adjacent bars and restaurants. Many people doing their Christmas shopping were caught up in the violence then had to seek shelter to avoid becoming involved in the demonstration.

One of the protesters had to be transferred to the Puerta del Mar University Hospital after being hit by a rubber bullet in one eye. A spokesman for the workers union CCOO, Francisco Cardenas, described the police response as “disproportionate”. It is understood that just one person from among the protester was for throwing stones while several patrol cars had their windows broken.

Cardenas said that the former employees were demonstrating at the inaction of the Government of Andalusia which made a commitment three years ago, when the Delphi factory closedto find alternative employment for all the workers who were laid off.

At present there are still 600 people who have not been found work as promised by the then employment minister, Antonio Fernandez. Neither had the paid re training courses been made available to these former employees.