11 July 2012 Last updated at 15:07 GMT
On Wednesday thousands of supporters joined the miners to march through Madrid
On Wednesday thousands of supporters joined the miners to march through Madrid
Coal
miners from northern Spain reached the capital Madrid on Tuesday night -
19 days after starting the Marche Negra (Black March) protest on 22
June. They are rallying against government proposals to slash subsidies
as part of austerity measures.
On Wednesday thousands of supporters joined the miners to march through Madrid
Some of the protesters clashed with riot police after joining the march. A number of people were reportedly arrested.
Anger within Spain's northern mining community erupted in May when the
government announced its plans to cut funding for the industry.
Since 1 June, some 8,000 miners have been on strike. Some took to
barricading major motorways in the north with piles of burning tyres. 
In the Leon region, one of the heartlands of coal mining in Spain, a number of peaceful street marches have been staged.
Homemade rocket launchers became a symbol of the miners strike as clashes with police escalated in June.
Some
miners took their entire families to join the protest march. This
demonstrator walks in Mieres in front of graffiti reading: "Get
organised and fight against the system".
Meanwhile, burning barricades continued to blaze in the north. This photograph was taken in Pola de Lena, near Oviedo.
Women miners and the wives and female relatives of other miners created a roadblock outside one mine in Caborana.
Last
week, as the March Negra continued, clashes went on in areas such as
Aller, where miners at the Pozo Santiago mine fired rockets at security
forces.
At
times police have struggled to repel protesters firing missiles,
despite using tear gas and rubber bullets, and have been forced to
retreat.
Unions say Spanish government plans to cut mining subsidies from 301m euros to 111m euros will leave thousands jobless.
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