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INPRIMATU
Ounza Irureta
"Women in residences rose from 600 euros in 2006 to 1,200 euros in 2016"
  • Onintza Irureta offered on Tuesday afternoon at the Katakrak bookstore in Pamplona/Iruña the book "berdea gives more berria" to 16 people. The book bears witness to the hard struggle of women in the residences of Bizkaia.
Xabier Letona Biteri @xletona 2019ko martxoaren 12a

About 2,000 people work in the nursing home sector in Bizkaia, 95 per cent of whom are women. These women held a total of 378 days of strike to reach an employment agreement between the Basque Government and Labor Kutxa. Irureta explained that this is a totally precarious sector, but that as a result of the struggle very obvious improvements are being made. For example, in 2006 the worker charged 600 euros - as explained by the ARGIA journalist "the employers in the sector considered it a salary supplement" - and in 2016, 1,200 euros.

The book is divided into two parts, one dedicated to the struggles and improvements that are given in the collective agreement of the sector. This struggle has been led by the ELA syndicate. This part is key to seeing the improvements made as a result of the struggle. The second part contains the testimonies of eight women, whose key is to understand how women fight this one-year strike, how they suffer and how they take over, not only in their area of work, but also throughout their lives. To get a better and more in-depth look at the content of the book, here is the chronicle of the presentation made by Estitxu Eizagirre on February 20 in Bilbao.

From the classic and modern opponents of the strike

In the end, the ELA coordinator in Navarra, Mitxel Lakuntza, among the audience, thanked Irureta for telling him this fight. "The strikes always tell," Lakun said, "whether it has been won or lost, and this book tells us how that path has been made. We had this lack in the union, we were also talking about the feelings that are in those fights, that is done here."

Lakuntza also gave a brief thought to the opponents of the strike: "The strike has a classic, patron, right-wing and similar enemy, but lately it is also called into question by the left, saying that the strike does not serve to change society as if the revolution was made on Twitter from home chairs. We think there are no more transformative elements than the strike." At the April Extraordinary Congress, Lakuntza will be named ELA General Secretary.

The book has been created jointly by ARGIA and the Manu Robles Arangiz Institute and, among other things, can be purchased at the Azoka of Durango.