At the beginning of November we met in the auditorium of the San Sebastian Technological Park more than a hundred organizations from different sectors and characters that work in very different areas to hold the First General Assembly of signatories of the agreed document to influence language policies Batuz Aldatu. The main objective is to create conditions for the comfortable use of Euskera, and the diversity of participants has shown that new consensus and alliances on concrete content can be built. Priorities and measures in linguistic policies by area have thus been defined in the document.

Today I will highlight some related to the world of work. Because all the experts agree that the Basque unification of the world of work must be strategic in the linguistic policies of the coming years. It cannot happen that investment in education is lost in the world of work, that is, that the younger generations we have prepared in Basque are not given space to work in Basque.

The first point is that the workplace must also be a comfortable space for the Basque Country. To do this, it is important to protect the right of staff to work in Basque in the workplace. In this regard, the ELA and LAB unions initiated in November 2020 a dynamic to boost the Euskera plans in companies with more than 50 workers through the interprofessional agreement, that is, to formalize the commitment to put the Euskera plan on the agenda at the request of the company or workers. The proposal did not move forward.

Since October of this year, the unions are making a new attempt; through dozens of identified companies and trade union representatives, dynamics are being created for measures to be taken to guarantee the right to work in Basque in these companies, either through the implementation of Basque plans, or through the methodology of the Bai Euskarari Certificate, the creation of Basque commissions or the realization of diagnoses. In addition, the context of Euskaraldia and the work centers created in it have been included.

Secondly, given that the administration is one of the main contracting services and providers, it is also a priority to ensure the provision of the service in Basque. Therefore, any administration based in the Basque Country that contracts a company to serve the citizens, needs to establish linguistic criteria in the hiring to guarantee the service in Basque and for the citizen to receive the service in Basque. Likewise, it is necessary to systematically establish the linguistic social clauses to guarantee the rights to work in Basque and to receive the service in Basque.

Thirdly, as far as consumers are concerned, the usual establishments (shops, banks, pharmacies...) must become comfortable spaces for Basque use. To this end, it is necessary to carry out a legal architecture and legislative development that offers recognition and guarantee of the linguistic rights associated with consumer relations. Depending on the socio-linguistic environment and the nature and impact of the sector, the obligation to offer its products and services in Basque should be established and extended to all companies in the specific period.

The presence of Euskera in the workplace is a priority and requires firm steps in planning, standards and resources. It is important that administrations, businesses, workers and consumers also incorporate the linguistic perspective. And if we also build spaces for interaction, it will be much easier to open consensus and build the future from consensus.

Rober Gutiérrez, Director of the Bai Euskarari Association