Bill Gates says Spain is on the right side of history, Brussels to investigate discrimination against early retirees in Spain,€300 to rent a shack in Mallorca and more news on Friday September 26th.
Spain is on the right side of history, says Bill Gates
Bill Gates has said that Spain is “on the right side of history” and given the country an international award.
Microsoft co-founder Gates gave the prize to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during the presentation of the Global Goalkeeper 2025 award in New York. Sánchez had been in New York for UN talks.
The tech mogul and philanthropist highlighted the Spanish president’s work on international cooperation and global health, but with a clear allusion to Spain’s outrider stance on the Gaza war: “At least one country is setting a different example. A country that is taking a step forward, not only for its own people, but for all of humanity. And that is due, in large part, to its Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.”
Brussels to investigate discrimination against early retirees in Spain
The European Parliament’s Petitions Committee has this week called on the European Commission to investigate the Spanish pension system, and, in particular, discrimination against early retirees with more than 40 years of contributions.
This follows a petition by a Spanish citizen who has complained about the discrimination suffered by some Spanish workers if they decide to retire before the state retirement age.
According to the complaint, most of these workers started working at a very young age and, despite having contributed for a longer period than required to receive a full pension, they are subject to sanctions that he considers “unjustified.”
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Junts join PP and Vox to call for tougher paternity leave for foreign seasonal workers
Right-wing Catalan separatist party Junts has joined with the centre-right Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox to call for restrictions on paternity leave rights for foreign workers in Spain.
With the votes of PP and Vox, UPN, a conservative Navarrese party, the group approved this week a non-law proposal from Junts to ask the government to undertake legal reforms to toughen the paternity leave granted to migrant seasonal workers.
This follows claims by right-wing parties that seasonal workers are “abusing” the paternity system.
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€300 to rent a shack in Mallorca
The brutal realities of the housing market in Spain have been laid bare after police in Mallorca discovered 11 shanty-like housing arrangements for which, according to the authorities, residents were charging rent despite appalling sanitary conditions.
Surrounded by rubbish and even with communal toilets, they were being rented for €300 per month. The owner now faces an administrative sanction of up to €300,000 for allegedly renting out the substandard housing, where they estimate that some 30 people are living, including some families with children.
The owner claims that he has not received any money for rent and that his land is being squatted.
