Thousands of Spanish civil servants left work and took to the streets in angry protest against new sweeping austerity measures including wage cuts and tax increases. In Madrid, hundreds-strong groups of government workers blocked traffic in different parts of the city. As dusk fell, bands of protesters marched, stopping to jeer outside the headquarters of the conservative and socialist parties before heading to parliament. About 500 civil servants dressed in black rallied at the city's central square Puerta del Sol. Some women wore veils, as if at funerals. Protesters blew whistles and horns. In Valencia, several hundred Justice Ministry workers shouted "hands up, this is a stick-up" at a protest rally. The latest bout of austerity is prompting widespread opposition, not least from civil servants whose wages were cut by 5 per cent in 2010 in the first round of austerity cuts. The government is now axing their extra Christmas payment in what amounts to another 7 per cent pay cut. Spanish civil servants are not highly paid, with many earning as little as €1,000 (£787) a month. Librarian Isabel Perez said: "Our wages have already been cut and now they take away the Christmas payment. "I don't make it to the end of the month as it is. "The extra payment gave some relief. We're not exactly millionaires." She earns €1,300 (£1,020) a month and has already faced a yearly €330 (£260) wage cut.
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