Surely today's situation has been a coincidence, an exception. At least that's what I want to think. I attended with my son the outpatient clinic of the University Hospital of Álava, ophthalmologist review. Immediately after entering, we tried to take the ticket of the turn at one of the appointment machines. It was wrong. The machine invites us to go to the counter. We've tried it in another machine and the same answer. Third, but same. Desperate, we headed to the counter and, while we waited, aware that the other users were getting tickets with total normality, I went back to the machines to make a fourth attempt. I asked a worker there and he replied, in Spanish, to try on the machine next door. This time it is. In the room, I got the ticket. The language of the machine was Spanish. I have not selected EUS. In Spanish, the first attempt has given me the ticket.

We went up to the second floor and sat in the waiting room. I looked at the Ziten screen and heard the call from the next public address. “ADT zero, zero, four; consult two hundred and nineteen.” I thought that being the first warning in Spanish, the second would be in Basque. What is going! “ADT zero, zero, four; consult two hundred and nineteen.” With the next equal call. Both classifieds in Spanish. Enter the consultation and good morning! All in Spanish.

According to Osakidetza, communication is one of the most important tools in the care activity, so to guarantee the quality of the service it is essential that patients and users act in the official language that they feel more comfortable and safe. Taking as a principle the provision of a quality service and respect for linguistic rights, Decree 67/2003 established the priorities and bases for the normalization of Euskera, and since then criteria and measures have been put in place to extend the presence and use of Euskera in Osakidetza through the plans of Euskera. In relations with public administrations we have the right to be treated in Basque. This was explicitly approved in Law 10/1982 Basic of Standardization of the Use of the Basque Country, and has subsequently been explained in various legal provisions applicable to Osakidetza.

This is just one example. They are very common in relations with most administrations. Is anything fatal, no? Otherwise, how long did this process last? How long should we wait for the administration to respond in Basque? It seems that there is still a long way to go in order to be able to receive public services in Euskera on an equal footing; sometimes the measures are very slow, sometimes they are not aimed at overcoming the current framework and, unfortunately, in some areas there are also setbacks. The rules are indispensable for the respect of the rights of speakers, but they are not enough, they must be complied with.

In other areas, suppose that in the case of services provided by private companies, we do not have rules either, or those that are left very short. Therefore, how will the use of Euskera in this area advance? These companies, unlike public administrations, have the need to attract clients, and the identification and concordance with elements that attract these clients is of vital importance in their performance. Consumers have enormous strength in this respect.

In an increasingly globalised world, anyone can buy anything from a company located at the other end of the world, but at the same time, or perhaps for that reason, the consumer especially values the one around him, which expresses his commitment to his environment, and which gives particular importance to his closest customers. A company that understands it perfectly will take an important step in attracting nearby customers.

Our administrations should be exemplary and act responsibly by putting the means to relate to us in Basque and guaranteeing the right of the people who work in Basque. Furthermore, they have a responsibility to influence the private sector, for example by establishing and assessing linguistic criteria in the award of public services, calls for grants and contracts of all kinds.

On the contrary, it is in the interests of private companies to be attentive to the motivation, desire and vision of the world of consumers, and for Basques, the use of the Basque Country makes a company clearer than anything else between close, committed and complicit.

Rober Gutiérrez, Director of the Bai Euskarari Association