MADRID: Spain’s National Court has ruled against the creation of the firstsex workers union that left the feminist Socialist government red in theface on discovering its own administration had approved it.
The court, which deals with major cases, announced Wednesday it hadcancelled the statutes of the “Organisation of Sex Workers”, which wasregistered by the labour ministry and published in the official gazette onAugust 4.
It ruled that a union cannot defend members who carry out “activities thatby nature don’t come with a valid work contract”.
It added that giving the green light to such a union would equate to“admitting that pimping… is a legal activity”.
The OTRAS union, which promises to defend the rights of people in theindustry, had argued it doesn’t only represent sex workers but alsopornographic film actors or phone sex operators.
But the court said that not excluding sex workers meant it was illegal.Spain’s fiercely anti-sex workers Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had beenleft red in the face in August when news of the approval of the unionemerged.
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Sex work is tolerated in Spain —neither illegal nor regulated —but Sanchezcame to power in June with a strongly feminist agenda promising to fightthe exploitation of women.
The labour ministry had promptly launched proceedings to challenge theunion’s existence in court.
Labour Minister Magdalena Valerio told reporters at the time she wasshocked by the fact such a union had been approved by her ministry’s labourdirectorate general.
“As a minister and member of a feminist government, I would never havegiven the OK for this to be published in the official state gazette,” shesaid. – APP/AFP
