A new co-operative movement has recently gained momentum where the workers are taking over factories closed down by the multinationals. Some banks are also run by confederation of co-operatives. Basque people's anxiety about the future is growing. Wages for all but a fortunate few have stagnated or fallen. What concerns Maria is the status of women workers.
Women work mostly in the consumer goods industry, supermarket chains and in the service sector.
Discrimination is all pervasive, 'no better than elsewhere in Spain'. Salaries are also less than their male counterparts. The trade unions are, off late, trying to address the women workers' issues. But, very few among the trade union members are women. In LAB, where Maria is a Secretariat member, there are 24 male members as opposed to only 3 women.