Spain's Prime Minister told trade unions on August 17 the country was close to needing a bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal, union leader Ignacio Fernandez Toxo said during an interview with state television. "He told us (the situation) was really bad, he said he had seen it on the edge of the abyss, in the form of a bailout for the Spanish economy," Toxo said in an interview posted on the website of state television's 24-hour news channel on Monday. "I don't know the data on which he based that. Nor did he give us the letter from the director of the European Central Bank." Toxo, the head of Spain's largest workers' union the CCOO, said in a statement on Tuesday the country was not, and had never been, on the verge of needing a bailout and his comments had been an "unfortunate attempt to sum up the meeting." Markets in early August drove Spain's bond yields perilously close to levels which forced Greece and others to reach out for aid, but have since come back down thanks to a sustained campaign of bond buying by the European Central Bank. "Spain being bailed out can be ruled out," Spain's Economy Minister Elena Salgado said in response to Toxo's comments on Monday. "There is uncertainty over the whole euro zone and in particular in those countries where we most frequently seek financing," she said. Toxo said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made the comments during a meeting with unions and employers' representatives about wage negotiations. "The European Trade Union Confederation has spoke of (a united front against speculation) and the need to issue euro bonds for greater financial autonomy," Toxo said on Tuesday. "It seems we're heading in that direction but, to do so, the incomprehensible resistance from Germany must be overcome." Unions are due to hold marches on Tuesday evening to protest against moves to put a debt brake in the constitution, which they say will result in cuts to social spending and affect the poorest in society.-Reuters
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