Group says Gibraltar is mass-firing Spain workers

SOURCE CBSNEWS

An organization representing Spaniards working in Gibraltar says the tiny British colony located near Spain's southernmost tip has fired around 10 percent of its Spanish workforce since the beginning of this year.

The organization of Spanish workers and pensioners in Gibraltar, CITYPEG, said in a statement that some 500 Spanish workers had lost their jobs there. The statement said around 5,000 Spaniards cross the border every day to find employment on the self-governing rock.

The organization's director, Francisco Ponce, said the majority had been in the construction industry. He said there was a danger that Spaniards working in other public sector jobs were at risk of termination because employers were favoring native of Gibraltar in job relocation programs.