- On Sunday in Donostia-San Sebastián, the workers of the household and the Civil Guard have been called by different agents. Besides denouncing bureaucratic obstacles, they have claimed the need for conventions and the right to leisure as a fundamental tool.
The home and care workers of Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarre have left the streets of the Gipuzkoan capital with sarcasm. They have made it clear that not everyone has been able to participate: “We’re not all, there’s a lack of internal staff.” They have highlighted some of the demands necessary to preserve their physical and mental health: “We want to enjoy holidays and leisure. We need to rest from an intense, undervalued and unrecognized work, which we carry out continuously and in many cases without schedules”.
The manifestation has been the result of the reflection processes carried out between different agents: Artists such as Enara, Thycna de Navarra or Bidez bide and Maitelan de Gipuzkoa have participated in the south, among others. They have been framed and strengthened in the activities organized by the feminist platform Denon Bizitzak Erdigunea. I have underlined the importance of putting care at the centre, and following the political discourse of the platform Denon Bizitzak Erdigunea: “We need to repoliticize ‘self-care’, because the personal is political. Who cares for home and care workers? What if we stopped caring? ".
They have also criticised the Basque Government, putting a stop to its headquarters in the Basque Autonomous Community (CAV). In order to continue working in Araba and Gipuzkoa since 2018, it is necessary to have socio-sanitary training, but workers have reported that it is "very difficult" to be able to access these courses. They add that those who are not registered or do not have a work permit cannot enroll in the courses.
The Aliens Act, a stumbling block
There has also been a stop at the Santa Catalina Bridge, where there have been injuries. In it, they have denounced that women living in migratory processes suffer a lot of violence: "The Aliens Act obliges us to work for many years without a work permit, and as a result we suffer a violation of labor and social rights of great magnitude."
Workers who work as residents of houses have also been taken into account and the abolition of such "slave" jobs has been called for. In addition, they have called for a "dignified" pact for all workers at the Gürtel plant.