The Council has offered an all-morning programme. The Donostia Conference brought together people working in the care sector, responsible for Euskaltegis and agents who explained practical experiences. Summaries of some of the six conferences are given below.

In the following link you can see the program and the full video program: Surveillance and Euskera. Building networks

Idurre Eskisabel: “We have a big knot”

The Council Secretary-General, Idurre Eskisabel, has entered the days under the title: What is the socioeconomic environment for the Basque Country? To whom has he left out? Why is strategic surveillance for Euskera?

Eskisabel has recognized that it has not been easy for them to complete the programme, that is, that they have turned to each other and talked about the complexity of the subject and have doubted the contribution they can make on this subject. Eskisabel said, “I wouldn’t say people are scared, but we have a big knot.”

Therefore, he stressed that this is a complex knot and that, at the same time, “it can be formulated in a very simple way”: that care is good and fair when it comes to a person cared for in his own language, in many cases in Basque. She adds that the need for care comes from a situation of vulnerability. On the other hand, he explained that the greatest difficulties to reach the Basque country are those who dedicate themselves to the tasks of care, and has considered that this difficult access is precisely because of the working conditions and characteristics of this type of work.

Urgency

The subject is complex of maturation and must be addressed “as a matter of urgency”. Eskisabel said that the objective of the conference is not to find concrete solutions, “we think we are far from that”. The idea is to “provoke dialogue”, which from now on the Basque world opens a path of dialogue.

The factories on the front line

Eskisabel has gone back in time and wanted to show how in the process of Euskaldunization of the socio-economic area priority has been given to different areas and others have remained in second place. Euskalgintza has recognized, for two decades, the efforts made by the socio-economic field on the road to Euskaldunization, but has added that when Euskalgintza thought about it, the factories have had in mind: “It has always left out a space where there is feminized and precarious employment, and it is no coincidence. The Basque Country is also a mirror of society and has also reproduced the gap between reproductive and productive work that crosses society.” He explained that although the aging process of society is intensifying, care is not at the forefront of the sociopolitical agenda, “as the Basque country is not! We joined in it!”

No monitoring

Eskisabel has shared with the public one of the concerns she has lately, that is, if Euskalgintza has not given the best time to work the gaze of social transformation and the contributions of feminism, if she has not forgotten that Euskalgintza requires constant listening: “I think we’ve taken that path for granted.”

What do caregivers have to tell us? Colloquium: Katia Reimberg, Elisa Peredo and Mariana Urcuyo

They have spoken and offered their vision to care associations and cooperatives.

Katia Reimberg has been in Brazil for 20 years in the Basque Country. She worked as a resident household employee for five years. He is currently one of the workers of the Bidez Bide association. She has had her experience with Euskera. He has set as an example that once he went to the official language school and that the employee told him why he wanted to learn Basque, he advised him “do not learn Basque!” He said that he has been trying to learn Basque for 20 years and that he will continue.

The three rapporteurs, Reimberg, Urcas and Peredo, have pointed out the lack of time at the top of the list of obstacles to Basque learning. Elisa Peredo, from the cooperative Maitelan, has finished his speech as follows: “Time is our main enemy.” Reimberg reflects: When will we learn? It's not easy, it's not friendly, we don't have time to learn. If I have two hours off, will I learn Basque in those two hours? Reimberg said that the workers working in this sector want to learn Basque, and added that they are left out of many activities because they do not know Basque.

It mentions some inconveniences. He says there is no marketing that will encourage him to learn Basque. They are also aware that they can get better jobs if they know the Basque country, for example, they could make the leap from domestic work to residences. Another example of the impossibility of going to school is the following: The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa organized compulsory socio-health courses, and Reimberg stressed that “it was a great salsa” to be able to carry them out because “the workers are working, they are surviving”. It has also called for other days and hours to be organised, especially on weekends, when home workers are freer. He believes that if they did, they would go a lot more to study. He has also asked for classes to be free, but he has once again claimed the flexibility of the courses, the workers have problems meeting the rigid schedules, “they are now free in the morning, in the next afternoon, in the evening…”.

Mariana Urcuyo: “How are you going to give me permission to go to study Basque?”

Mariana Urcuyo belongs to the association No domesticated workers. They bring together women domestic workers and respond to their needs and claim their rights. It indicates that household employees have different profiles. However, he stressed that, in general, people working in the precarious surveillance sector have special characteristics and specific difficulties: Foreign Law, comedies to get the census, housing, discrimination by race and others. Asked about their attitude towards Euskera, it has begun as follows: “We are sensitive to Euskera, but we work too hard and are paid too little.” As a result of this situation, he says that it is very difficult to spend time studying Basque: “There is no negotiation with the head of the house and how are they going to give me permission to go to study Basque? Urquito says, for example, that the worker has the right to go to a doctor, but that in this relationship the boss - worker is usually asked for permission to do so. It becomes inconceivable to ask for permission to go to study Basque.

She says her son teaches her something, but she can't spend more time. He does not believe that they have no respect or recognition for the Basque: “Euskera should be part of integration into society.”

Urwanted distinguishes between Association workers and household employees. He has pointed out that those who work in the association, for their work and for their relations, feel the need to euskaldunize, for them the Basque Country has a great value, is part of the place where they live. However, household employees perceive the Basque differently: “It’s a barrier, you and us.” One worker told him that he would like to learn Basque to understand the family that lived what they were saying about him. “Instead of inspiring and encouraging the workers, it pulls them away,” says Urquito.

And the rapporteur once again referred to the lack of time. He has proposed to learn Basque in working hours, “just as the course of occupational risks in working hours has been carried out”. He proposes that Euskera be considered as an instrument that acts as a bridge from the point of view of privilege: “We have to feel the need, and we will give it and receive it.”

Elisa Peredo: “Why doesn’t HABE help us the hours?”

Elisa Peredo is a partner of the Maitelan cooperative. Part of your experience. Half seriously, he joked that he pointed to the Basque dances, with the intention of learning Basque. He has learned dances, but not Euskera: “I like it, but I don’t have time and it’s disappointing.”

In the Maitelan cooperative, fifteen people work and four of them are learning Basque. In the Basque Country they have difficulty finding the right schedules. In Peredo's opinion, the best time for workers is at noon and they have difficulty in entering classes with the Basque Country. It has happened to them that they have not been able to form a group and that the staff are learning again in a lower group. Moreover, he underlined the economic effort of the cooperative, since Maitelane assumed the cost of studying the workers during working hours, and asked himself: “Why does HABE not subsidize us the hours? Thus, we would continue to learn Euskera during working hours.”

He has also put on the table the differences between the different languages. That they learn unified Euskera in the Basque Country and do not understand the “closed Euskara” of the street. He has also referred to not approaching them in Basque: “You see that we are not here and they do not speak to us in Basque.”

The documentary is attended by Aize Otaño (AEK) and Joxerra Olano (IKA). What does adult Euskaldunization literacy have to offer? What adaptation does it have to make?

Aize Otaño explained that in the issue of custody and the Basque country responsibility is shared, that the Euskaltegis have much to say and contribute. He also pointed out that, in the area of care, linguistic rights must also be guaranteed and that it is essential to euskaldunify this sector. He has highlighted two main challenges: the free and socialisation of the need to know the language.

The work has focused on two axes: on the one hand, to promote the need to learn Basque among the workers, to bring it closer to the Basque country and, subsequently, to offer the possibility of acquiring linguistic competence. On the other hand, the creation of areas of use, both for staff and for recipients.

It has given great importance to satisfy the wishes and needs of the Receiver Care Service, indicating that the language is also present in this work: “If the worker has the ability to provide an adequate response, trust will be created, a closer relationship … The receiver is located in the center and their needs will be more satisfied”.

He explained that from a linguistic point of view there is no diagnosis of the sector, that there is no language policy and that a diagnosis must be made in order to agree objectives.

Otaño lists a number of measures to be taken in this sector:

-Legal protection.

-The universalization of knowledge. Two types of motivation, pragmatic and affective, should be worked out. As for the first, they should be made to see that it is an added value for personal and professional development, and Otaño says that the institutions have to develop public policies for this. It has called for specialized resources for this precarious sector. It says that awareness-raising strategies must be developed to work on affective motivation, to immerse oneself in the Basque culture and to build bridges.

-The sector must make a diagnosis and define objectives according to it.

-Adopt concrete linguistic policy measures to make them decide or be able to choose to learn Basque.

-Recognize and facilitate the right to learn from Euskera in working hours. And besides going to the Basque Country, because learning does not guarantee its use, offer training plans to change the linguistic habits between the workers and between the worker and the provider.

-Elaboration of plans for Euskera. Training sessions adapted to the specific needs of staff for these specific communication relationships.

Joxerra Olano, IKA: “In some places officials have the opportunity to learn during working hours and in some workshops.”

Olano has focused on four axes. Firstly, he explained that language policies are needed to make workers aware of the need to learn Basque, and then Aize Otaño proposed working on the two types of motivation mentioned. Secondly, and as you stressed at the table of domestic workers, you mentioned the need for time: “In this sector and in other sectors, time is a ballast. In some places, officials have the opportunity to study during working hours and in some workshops.” Thirdly, you referred to free learning. He says that free learning of the local language is fair and adds that we are far from gratuitous, “although we are taking steps”. Remember that the Basque sector has made a proposal for the whole of the Basque country. Fourthly, it has called for a stable structure for the sector.

Xabier Lertxundi, Mayor of Hernani: “Paper holds everything, but in practice it’s not.”

First of all, the mayor has made it clear that the City Hall works only in Basque, that all workers speak in Basque. Then, speaking of care, he said that custody will be dignified if everyone has the opportunity to receive it in their language.

He points out that the home service is outsourced, like other services, and adds that by calculating in hours and in money surveillance is a very powerful sector for the City Hall. In the interview, in addition to commenting on the difficulties to combine Euskera and care, it will be treated carefully. For example, cites the case of subrogated workers: “We say to companies that they have to make an Euskera plan, the role has everything, but in practice it is not, today we have heard the workers.” He insisted that they ask the cleaning workers and the housekeepers for the same conditions, “and they have very different schedules, they are women and have to conciliate at home… in practice there are very few workers who voluntarily participate in the Basque courses. Classes may have to be put into working hours.” Having said that, he recalled the attempts being made with the care cooperative Maitelan. With the help of AEK, the Basque classes are prepared and, as Elisa Peredo said, the workers are learning Euskera during working hours. However, the mayor of Hernani has pointed out that, although working in working hours, they have difficulty in doing so. He referred to the hard work of caregivers and the “need to learn later”. He has asked for language plans adapted to the sector. It adds that this issue is structural and cannot be left in the hands of municipalities or associations: “I am in favour of coercion, the system has to impose obligation, but it has to provide resources. It’s a big challenge.”

Aitziber Arnaiz, Euskera Technique of the Municipality of Oiartzun: “We need the institutions above to take other kinds of measures, we oftentimes put petachos”

The technician has reported the lights and shadows of the Oiartzun area. Home care staff are public personnel and all of them have a proven linguistic profile 2. They account for more than 10% of the municipal staff.

Besides the home service, they have the Zainadi service, a project to work the unchosen solitude. They have made hiring, the Basque is compulsory for the workers, but “we put linguistic criteria, but in practice it is difficult. The Castilian speakers also participate and in some situations, for example, in coffee tertulias the translation does not work.”

He also referred to the seat of the locality. It's Petra Lekuona, run by the Matia Foundation. He says that Matia is a large institution, with which the linguistic criteria do not arrive from the City Hall, “we need supramunicipal entities”. He adds that in the residence more than one has asked for the right to die in Basque. He has made it clear that not all Matia workers are Basque and that a lot of work can be done with them.

The day centre is the one that makes the day the worst value. It is a totally private treatment, and you said that the relationship has cooled down. It says that there are Basque and Castilian workers, but that the environment is very Castilian and Spanish. From her home she listens to the music they put in the center of the day and explains that, besides not looking at the language, songs can also be heard from the perspective of equality between men and women.

Arnaiz has shown a video to the attendees of the day in which he has participated. There are two caregivers, one Basque and the other no. They tell how they help each other to learn Basque and the erdaldun shows their desire to learn the language. Arnaiz reminded the caregivers that there are in the houses and said that we have to maintain the feeling of Daniela [Spanish video worker], we have to do a work of sensitization: “We don’t speak in Basque for anyone to understand [Mariana Urquito refers to some lines above], we do it in Basque because we are happier, because we want to live in Basque, and we want those who come to the people to be happy with us too.”

The Basque technician of Oiartzun has made a final note: “It is significant that here we are two municipalities, we have to go higher, we need higher level institutions to take other kinds of measures, we often put petachos”.