Leader of Spain's largest union stepping down

Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — The 64-year-old leader of Spain's largest labor union has announced he is stepping down.

Ignacio Fernandez Toxo told a meeting of the Comisiones Obreras union on Saturday that he won't seek a third term as general secretary in elections set for June.

"These times call for younger leaders," Fernandez Toxo said. "I am well aware that if I held a third term I would be 68 years old when I finish it."

Fernandez Toxo said he was backing 44-year-old Unai Sordo to succeed him.

Fernandez Toxo has been the general secretary of Comisiones Obreras since 2008.

Comisiones Obreras and UGT are the two biggest unions in Spain with each counting over a million members.