LAB's will has always been, as the highest representative of the workers of the Council, to reach agreements to achieve equal rights for these workers. That is why we have come to all the monthly “negotiation” meetings and also to the elaboration of the collective agreement that took place for a long time. But as we did with the previous government, this government is still in the lead.

Last May 2019 we also had to get out of the negotiating table of the convention, rather than to negotiate and agree the agreement with the trade union side, because they were using it only to impose their criteria. In the view of all trade unions, the regulation on the working conditions of officials was adopted unilaterally. In addition to this imposition, differences between officials and employees were encouraged. Discrimination as an axis.

Since the first day of the new legislature, we have begun to demand, in addition to solutions to labour disputes, the path to the demands of the workers. We did so on the day of the creation of the General Boards and when we met with the new Member of Governance. Now, a few months later and after the imposition of its Collective Agreement, we have been told that the working conditions standard will not be negotiated and that, in any event, it will be discussed at regular negotiating meetings if they see it as necessary. Otherwise, no. That is the process of deregulation offered by the so-called champions of dialogue and agreement.

We continue to demand the same thing as we called for in May, to close the road to taxation and to open the door to consensus. Because to do what they are doing, to impose as they want everything they want, they do not need us and we will not give any legitimacy to that attitude with our presence. It is clear that the policy being pursued by the PNV and the PSE-EE is pure marketing to protect their interests. Here's your roadmap.

What happens in Parliament is not by chance, it is the result of a concrete model for public services. That is why in October LAB and ELA appeared before the Council to denounce the lack of employment policies. To denounce that the Deputation makes a self-bombing and chronicles temporality. On the same day, in the Basque Government, the unions denounced in the National High Court for the same reasons. “Jaurlaritxapuza” campaign. There too, because the number of contingencies is around 50%.

Markel Olano has pointed out that he wants to turn Gipuzkoa into the less unequal territory of the whole of Europe and, to this end, among other things, he has decided to increase the enormous salaries of politicians, while at the same time leaving the working hours of subcontracting workers working for the Council to EUR 4.52. The Member General needs a cover to act like this. It is not enough, and they intend to put an end to the public pension system that we currently have in place, for the benefit of private pension schemes.

Public services are being commodified, destroyed and, in the meantime, the services to be provided by public employees continue to be subcontracted. Our pawns outsource the service they have to provide. They sell the jobs in our homes at a low price, while year after year they continue to cover the jobs by programme.

Thus, it is evident that there is an antagonistic conflict between the LAB project and the PNV-PSE project. While we put life at the center in front of capital, they put their benefit. While we defend workers’ rights, they defend the interests of business and banking. While we defend public pensions, they defend private pension funds. While we defend a public and dignified endeavour, they defend precariousness.

The long history of the workers’ movement shows that all the improvements we have gained from the workers have been achieved through the struggle and the Basque oasis shows us that it will be in the future.

For all these reasons, we understand that the workers have a thousand reasons for doing the general strike called by the social agents and the trade union majority of Euskal Herria on 30 January. Our contribution will be to mobilize and dismiss the workers of the Member in favour of the General Strike.

Amaia Arruti

Nadet Arrizabalaga

Iñaki Marizkurrena

(LAB delegates from the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa)