- The workers of the schools under the pact of the Basque Social Initiative (including those of the Christian School and the Autonomous Association of Teaching Centers IZEA) have gone on strike this Tuesday and Wednesday. After three years of negotiating demands, the unions denounce that the employer for the renewal of the agreement, which affects 10,000 workers, continues to maintain a “real estate” attitude.
ELA, LAB, STEILAS, CCOO and UGT have all been called strike days. According to the unions, there has been a continuation of strikes of 65% and according to the employer, 30%.
Trade unions are calling for the 2009 agreement to be renewed, inter alia, to raise wages (which have remained frozen for the last ten years) and to reduce workloads. The employer is accused of ignoring them and of having no willingness to negotiate. “They don’t call us to negotiate, and they prioritize continuing the disinformation campaign they carry inside and outside the school.”
The unions have announced that if the employer does not change their position, they will strengthen the protests.
On the other hand, the ELA denounces that the directorates of some centers are violating the right to strike: The Labour Inspectorate of Bizkaia stated that during the mobilisations of 20 March a school violated the right to strike, because "even in these current strike calls, the directorates of some schools have continued to violate the right to strike, representing striking workers".