Dos de Mayo uprising Sacked employee reinstated

ON May 2 every year the community of Madrid cele‐brates its regional holiday. It commemorates the up ‐rising of May 2, 1808, when the people of Madrid took up arms to rebel against the French occupation of Spain. This event was the first of the Spanish War of Independence. This year this regional bank holiday is making all the headlines with the President of the Community of Madrid, Is‐abel Díaz Ayuso setting off metaphorical fireworks during the celebrations. The reason for the show‐down is the failure to for ‐mally invite the govern ‐ment’s representatives to the events being held in Madrid on May 2, more specifically the leader of the government, the presi‐dent, Pedro Sánchez was excluded from the celebra‐tions. These celebrations take over the city of Madrid with many free cul‐tural and musical shows held around the city to commemorate this impor‐tant day. Isabel Díaz Ayuso is being accused of using this celebration to create a political battle.

The president of Madrid, Ayuso, not one to shy away from a confrontation chose to escalate the situation along with the Regional PP and the mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez‐Almeida accused Félix Bolaños, the Minister of the Presidency, of ‘sneaking in’ where ‘he is not invited’. They even went so far as to compare him to a squatter at ‘their’ event. This of course creat‐ed a media frenzy.

Part of the festivities is a military parade through the centre of Madrid in the Puerta del Sol where Ayuso presided over the tradition‐al tribute to the Heroes of the ‘Dos de Mayo’, laying a laurel wreath at the tomb of the 43 soldiers shot on the day of the uprising against the French troops

Now discussions are un‐derway about Ayuso’s ac‐tions with many politi ‐cians speaking out condemning her actions describing them as ‘lowly’ and ‘childish’.

The conflict between President Pedro Sánchez and Isabel Díaz Ayuso goes back a long time and at the same event last year Sánchez announced in the middle of the celebrations that he had been infected by the Pegasus virus. Many at the time saw this as a ploy to garner attention and take it away from Ayu‐so.

A SPANISH court ruled in favour of a man fired from his job as an electrician after he was found to have drunk more than three litres of beer in one day.

The high court in Murcia found in favour of a sacked employee after ruling his employer could not prove the man was ‘inebriated, intoxicat‐ed or drunk’, or unable to do his job despite the man drinking more than three litres of beer in one day. The court ordered the company to reinstate the worker or pay him €47,000 (£42,000) in compensation. The court also noted the company had failed to take into account the effect the hot summer could have had on the man’s drinking.

The man, who had worked for the company for 27 years, was sacked in September 2021 after a private detective hired by his em‐ployers followed him and his company van over a few days that July.

A dismissal letter from the company informed the man he was being sacked for: “repeated and excessive alcohol consumption dur‐ing the working day, which endangered his physical well‐being and that of his workmates”