What valuation do they make of Wednesday's strike?

Very positive. Practically all workshop workers went on strike, except for minimum services and contingent personnel.

The production chain has not stopped for more than two decades.

I don't know exactly, but at least 20 years, yes.

Did you wait or have you been surprised?

I am very proud of the response of the workers. In the situation in which we find ourselves, under the pressure of the company and the political class, when the environment in the works council is not the most suitable for all workers to join... We were positively surprised.

You have been negotiating the new employment agreement for a year and a half. What are the main knots?

We are talking about a year and a half because the company wants it: the situation has dragged on until it is clear how European aid is to be distributed. This was clarified in March, when the company began negotiating, saying that it is going to make a substantially higher investment than it had promised.

What investments have you promised before?

In March, with no rigour, we were told that Germany was thinking of an investment of EUR 800 million for the new electric vehicle. Having made the European aid clearer, we have come up with 1.2 billion, a little more concrete, but little to say.

What is the European Union’s aid conditional on Mercedes’s investment project?

Since March, the conditions for receiving European funds in the Spanish State have been clarified, and of the EUR 1.2 billion, Mercedes is a candidate for 250 million aid. To this must be added the "public-private partnership" announced by lehendakari Urkullu, which we do not know what is going to be done.

Mercedes has a reputation for a modern company, which pays well, which respects workers’ rights. But you have denounced a very different reality from the trade unions. What is the reality?

We are aware that the working conditions we have are better than those of the workers in general in Álava, but that does not mean that we have to accept that our conditions are getting worse. Fortunately or unfortunately, we are a reference in the metal sector in Álava, and when the conditions of what is referenced deteriorate, those of others go behind. Defending the working conditions of Mercedes workers, we defend those of all Álava metal workers.

Having said that, our working conditions have changed a great deal over the last twenty years. The burden or pace of work has nothing to do with the hour, and as far as salaries are concerned, our purchasing power has gone down a lot.

In Mercedes, harassment of some trade unions and the promotion of others has been reported on several occasions.

This reality is undeniable, it is known to all workers. A prospective worker will never join ALS because he knows he's never going to be fixed. There is harassment of some unions and favoritism of others. Also when it comes to union work: some, if we exceed the union hours of the month in five minutes, take us off the wage; other representatives not five minutes, do not even tread their jobs, without any consequence.

It's going to be about twenty years that a friend had surprised me. "I've been told that if I want to make the landline, I have to join UGT." I have just read the same complaint in a report by Alea.

The company supports trade unions that sign labour agreements. There are trade unions that use it, which tell the workers that if they want to be fixed they have to join it – although then they cannot keep all those who promise them. It is an obvious secret among the workers.

Two blocs have been established between the trade unions: UGT and CCOO, on the one hand, ELA-LAB-ESK on the other. What are the differences?

The main difference is that we are trying to take into account the views of the workers, and they are not. A month ago, ELA, LAB and ESK called for an open assembly of workers. UGT and CCOO oppose, Action and PIM always go behind them. At the time of the collection of signatures, more than 50% of the workers requested the assembly, almost 80% of the workshop workers, and although the law says that 33% is enough to convene the assembly from the works council, they opposed it again.

Yesterday [Wednesday's strike in the mobilizations of the day], the screams against the sixth night and the increased flexibility were very evident. In the proposals that are on the table today, these unions are not against, they simply put a price. You only have to look at the number of people who were in the mobilizations called by each block, both in the morning and in the afternoon, to see where the workers stand, although they have a majority of trade unions [this is the composition of the Mercedes Works Council: 7 representatives from UGT and ELA, 4 from LAB and CCOO, 3 from ESK, Ekintza and PIM.

Given what he says, do you fear that some unions will address the interests of the company in this conflict situation?

They're already trying. Today [Thursday] UGT has sent us the proposal to cancel every day of strike we had called before, also what they themselves have called together with CCOO by 29 June, and to join the strikes of the Metal of Álava. Only on 30 June is a strike called in the Metal of Álava before the summer and then already in September. UGT yesterday surprised us all, wants to sleep that awakening of the workers. When the Metal of Álava calls for a strike have not left their delegates, they have not even called their members to the strike.

ELA, LAB and ESK called for a week-long strike starting next Monday. What is the situation now?

The workers want unity, in mobilizations too, this has been evident. We try to take this into account, but we also explain that unity is not just going together, but agreeing where we are going. But a lot of people don't understand it. At the demonstration on the afternoon of the day of the strike, the unions ELA, LAB and ESK committed themselves to relocating the Sixth Night does not favour the works council, to see if we can achieve a union in this regard. In the works council we have proposed to the other trade unions that the Monday and Tuesday calls for a strike be cancelled, and that on Wednesday, when all the trade unions have called for a strike, an open assembly is held, proposals are made, workers are heard and decisions are taken accordingly. The answer has been given by UGT by levels. Around the sixth night they say nothing clear and are willing to the assembly, but if we commit ourselves to supporting the labour agreement in the referendum the workers say yes. They know that we do not agree with the way the referendums are conducted.

What is wrong with a referendum?

This is something that has been going on for many years. They call democracy the determination of the conditions of a few among all. We agree to ask the workers, but about the things that affect each group of workers. It does not seem fair to us that a large number of workers who will not be affected by flexibility or the sixth night, we are talking about about 800 workers who do not work in the workshop, making decisions about it. The same applies to the 500 workers working on weekends and holidays: Why should everyone be asked to see if they accept the conditions that they want to impose on those 500?

On the other hand, the brand is then, UGT asks us to commit ourselves to approving the labour agreement that would be voted on in the referendum, when we do not yet know what its content would be. Of course, their play is that we do not deny ourselves, so that they argue that they do not accept the open assembly because we give up the referendum.

And CCOO what did you say?

At the meeting they say that they are prepared to commit themselves to the sixth issue, but that alternatives must be sought. It does not make me an understandable attitude: you will have to look for alternatives if you are in favor of deepening flexibility. To propose alternatives is the task of the company, which has seen that the workers clearly say no to their sixth shift. In any event, it undertakes to fight against the sixth night. As for the General Assembly, in principle yes, but it also talks about alternatives, citing the surveys. But let's see how it does it to ensure the transparency of the surveys... I do not know of any more transparent tool than the assembly, in which workers can participate and discuss.

So what is the timetable for the strike?

In the company committee ELA, LAB and ESK we have said directly that we cancel the calls on Monday and Tuesday, keeping on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. CCOO proposes Wednesday and Thursday, and we have approved it. We prioritize the general assembly and joint mobilizations. If the workers' assembly succeeds in unlocking the works council. But that of the House is complicated, because they are constantly trying to avoid it.

The main public institutions of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava and the CAPV have clearly moved in favor of the company, asking the staff to act “responsibly” or “without noise”. Since the trade unions have denounced the “pressure” of the organizations, how does it affect the workers?

It is not the first time, it is the pressure that is repeated every time there is negotiation of the labour agreement, because, although this time it is higher, the investment would be higher. But the institutions have not started to speak just now by chance. When Mercedes mentioned 800 million in March, they also spoke, but surely Mercedes told them: "Don't leave now, we don't have the project defined yet, because we don't know what European aid is going to stay on." Two minutes have left this time after the announcement of the investment. Not to say that thanks to the work of the Mercedes workers the company has decided to invest in Vitoria-Gasteiz, but we accept the conditions to ask the workers. They have talked about the conflict and that the conflict is clear when they are called strikes, but also when we are asked to increase the number of days, that the gains are frozen for six years or that the salary does not rise according to the CPI.

What we have seen these weeks is not an example of a generalised neoliberal approach? Mercedes in Álava, Volkswagen in Navarra... Society and the workers are the ones who are indebted to the company for creating "wealth" and "jobs", and not the other way around, so everything must be done to seduce them: the workers accept anything, the institutions redirect the public resources for their benefit ...

It is obvious. I usually say that Mercedes is not a company, but the German embassy in Álava. They do it inside and they undo it at will. I understand that the administration takes care of itself and that a company like Mercedes works to stay there, but it cannot be in exchange for the working conditions of the workers and the provision of money. We have these experiences in other companies, they have left and they have laid off workers.