Labor Union criticizes Spain's stance on refugees as gov't approves aid package

The Spanish government on Friday approved an aid package worth 83.4 million euros (93.64 million U.S. dollars) to non-governmental aid agencies that help refugees from Syria and Iraq when they arrive in Spain, as well as those who have arrived already, it was revealed at a press conference.

"We are working to attend to people who need international protection and have arrived here by their own means," said acting employment minister, Fatima Banez, adding the Spanish government had "adopted a responsible position and shown solidarity from the first moment," of the refugee crisis.

The move comes a day after acting interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz on Thursday announced Spain would house 200 refugees currently in Greece and Italy, "sometime in early May."

Diaz made his statement almost two months after saying the refugees would be welcomed into Spain by the end of March.

Spain's slowness in housing refugees has been criticized recently, with the labor union Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) on Thursday adding its voice to those criticizing the lack of action from Spain, which in September agreed to take in 15,000 refugees, but has so far accepted just 18.

In a communique distributed to the press, the UGT highlighted that at the current rate Spain was accepting refugees at an average of just 2.2 people a month and unless that was increased it would take 601 years to fulfil the quota.

The union criticized the "clear lack of political will," to deal with the issue and asked the government and the EU to protect the rights of refugees, saying it was "unacceptable that the EU has put a brake on the arrival of immigrants."

The union's comments echo those of the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

A UNHCR spokesperson said last week that although Spain had "all of the necessary conditions in order to increase its numbers," it had to "assume a greater responsibility and commitment." Endit