News in Brief - 03.09.2010

News in Brief

Jobless queues growing again
THE end of summer jobs in Spain led to the unemployed list expanding by more than 61,000 last month to nearly four million people.
It represented a 1.56% rise, from the previous month to 3.97 million, and on an annual basis, the figure was up 9.3%, or 340,581.The rise followed four months of falling unemployment.
Worryingly, the European statistics office, Eurostat, said on Tuesday that Spain’s unemployment rate in July was 20.3% - the highest among the 16 nations using the euro single currency, There is a 10% average for the entire region.
The Spanish government attempted to sweep the latest figures under the carpet, saying that the jobless toll traditionally rises in August, as seasonal contracts and summer sales end, and big businesses are closed for the holidays.
Finance Minister Elena Salgado said the figures were “much better” than last August, when there were 84,985 additional unemployed, and added: “In view of the seasonal context, the figure is less bad.”.
Agriculture was the only sector in which the out-of-work figures declined, dropping 1.09%. But in the services sector, where unemployment eased in July with summer-season work, the jobless total rose 1.7% in August.
Maravillas Rojo, Secretary General for Employment said: “Today's figures show that the labour market is beginning to stabilise and so, in the coming months, we can begin to have better news on unemployment.”

The Spanish economy, Europe’s fifth-largest, fell into recession in 2008 through the collapse of a property boom, but has recovered slightly so far this year.

 

 

Aladdin’s Cave - the treasure
trove that glitters throughout
ALADDIN’S CAVE, probably the most aptly-named shop on the Island, have recently extended their showrooms to include a third local.
The new unit is dedicated exclusively to beds and mattresses, both new (direct from the manufacturers) and used.
As with all their furniture, the used items are in tip-top condition. The shop is unique in that it combines a mixture of old and new.
The old includes antique ploughs, yokes, and all manner of farm implements, antique sewing machines, gramophones, nautical ephemera and even a grand piano. 
The new embraces every type and size of bed base and mattress, from the most economical “fibrablock” to top-of-the-range “viscoelastic” models.
All of these mattresses are anti-allergenic and carry a full two-year guarantee. They are available in widths from 80cm up to 200cm, and lengths of 180cm, 190cm or two metres.
In addition, they have a huge range of modern and classical furniture in every style, from contemporary through to traditional.
Aladdin’s Cave can be found at Los Toscales, on the main road between Buzanada and Valle San Lorenzo, and is open daily from 9:30am to 7pm
and 2pm on Saturdays.
If you have not yet discovered Aladdin’s Cave, give yourself a real treat and explore the labyrinth of this most unusual of shops.

 
 

Spain puts on a top-glass act

THE Spanish have proved they’ve got bottle in abundance by recycling more glass in 2010 already than in the whole of last year,
More than 4,000 tonnes extra has been delivered to bottle banks across the country, which means that more than 350,000 tonnes on top of the 2009 figure has been deposited.
.
Non-profit-making association Ecovidrio, which recycles glass, handled at least 750,000 tonnes last year, while around 70% of households say they use bottle banks.
But a survey by Ecovidrio reveals that medicine bottles, plus broken crockery and tiles are dropped into the bottle banks by mistake.
Ecovidrio, which says 100%  of all glass deposited in bottle banks is recycled, points out that only bottles and jars are acceptable, and not drinking vessels, medication containers or any other kind of breakable materials.

 

 

 

Mobile phone companies
lacking that ring of truth

A DAMNING report on customer-service offered by mobile phone operators in Spain criticises every company.

The Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU), says that not one of them has a service capable of helping users, and that the sector generates most complaints.

The 11 companies studied - Vodafone, Movistar, Orange, R, Pepephone, Yoigo, Másmovil, Happy Movil, Simyo, Euskatel and Carrefour - made mistakes in responding to six questions put to them by the researchers.

They included the subjects of 902 tariffs, calls abroad, internet coverage, and how to obtain the PUK number when the PIN number has been entered incorrectly.

The OCU said the time taken by some operators to give the answers was “interminable”: Happy Movil took 15 minutes, Vodafone 26, Simyo 51, Orange 69, and Telefónica’s Movistar nearly two hours.

In addition, the research shows that in Movistar’s case, it was normal for the call to hang up, be engaged, or end in an inescapable loop of automatic options.

All the operators, with the exception of Happy Movil, Másmovil and Yoigo, were guilty of that last complaint.

The OCU ended up with a tariff which was “far worse” than the previous one when ringing to find a cheaper contract with Orange and Vodafone

Only R admitted to limited coverage in rural areas when that was the case, while the rest gave “confused or erroneous” information, or did not answer.

Yoigo were the only operators to give complete information to the questions, while the rest gave partial answers only, “some times through lack of interest, and in others in a hurry to end the call”.

Orange and Movistar gave “completely incorrect” information on the cost of connecting to the internet when abroad.

When asked for the PUK, said the OCU: “Few operators asked for the additional information of name and DNI number to ensure that the phone owner was calling, and to avoid a possible fraudulent use of the phone.”

 

 

 

Moped kids are forced
to wait until next year
YOUNGSTERS itching to get their hands on a moped received bad news on Wednesday when the Spanish government raised the minimum age for riding a 50cc bike from 14 to 15.
 
 And moped manufacturers fear a drop in sales as a result of the 1^st September ruling.
 
The minimum-age issue was first mooted two years ago, but the government decided to postpone it until now to give those affected time to adapt.
 
Jordi Jané, spokesman for left-wing party CiU, called for the period of grace to be extended, stressing that riding a moped was a good, early-learning basis for driving a car.
He believes it can mean fewer motor accidents among the young when they eventually pass their driving tests.
 
But the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) said the move could help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries seen among moped riders.

 

 

Pip, pip

According to Spanish news sources a Córdoba company has started to manufacture and sell pillows containing charred olive pips.

Part of a Japanese tradition the pillows are claimed to help sleep as olive pips are able to absorb odours, avoid allergies, and help avoid back complaints.

Rafael Pérez thought of the idea after a trip to Japan where more than 90 hotels have such pillows available.

His company can now produce as many as 45,000 pillows a year, although starting levels are just 5,000.

He describes the pillows as a 100% natural product and they sell at between 150 and 170 € each. Exports back to Japan are expected to start shortly.

 

 

 

Seafood gastronomic route
Los Cristianos, a thousand flavours 2010, takes place from now until the 22^nd September, between 18:00 and 23:00 hours.
The gastronomic route coincides with the celebration of the fiesta in honour of Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
The initiative is from the municipality of Arona, through the Department of Economic Development, led by Marcelino Garcia Dácil, with the collaboration of the Association of Businessmen, Traders and Professionals of Arona, Commercial Zone in Los Cristianos, Canary Service Employment, Fan Association of Los Cristianos and the European Community of Cooks 'Euro-Toques'.
This initiative aims to boost the catering sector in the municipality of Arona, in particular the resort of Los Cristianos, and promote our traditional cuisine and local wines.
It also aims to inform the general public about the wealth of restaurants and bars in this area as a tourist attraction and commitment to quality and professionalism of the service sector, promoting the quality and creativity of the professionals.
A selection of 64 tapas are available including drink for just 3 euros.
See www.arona.org for more information and participating restaurants.

 

 

 

Unions call for all-out strike
SPAIN’S leading unions, CCOO and UGT, have called for a General Strike across the country on 29^th September.
They feel there is no chance of the government halting the labour reforms legislation - which is what they are protesting about - knowing they will definitively be approved by the government next Thursday (9^th Sept).
 
The two union organisation secretaries, Antonio del Campo and José Javier Cubillo, accused the PNV and CiU parties of not voting against the labour reforms which, they believed, worsened the workers’ conditions.