The Labor Commission of the Basque Parliament approves the opinion of the Bill of Income Guarantee

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The Committee on Labor and Employment of the Basque Parliament he has passed this wednesday the Opinion on the draft Law on the Basque Income Guarantee System and for Inclusiona text agreed by PNV, PSE-EE and Elkarrekin Podemos-IUwhich, after passing this procedure, it is only pending its final approval by the plenary session of the Chamber.

The bulk of the opinion has been approved with the affirmative vote of PNV, PSE and Elkarrekin Podemos-IUwhile EH Bildu has abstained Y PP+Cs has voted against. Vox was the only formation that requested, in the plenary session last October, the return to the Basque Government, but its entire amendment was rejected by the rest of the parliamentary groups.

The approval of this project by the Basque Government was already guaranteed from the beginning thanks to the parliamentary majority of the parties that make up the Executive (PNV and PSE-EE). However, with the agreement signed by the jeltzales and socialists with Elkarrekin Podemos-IU at the beginning of October, the text has the support of 47 parliamentarians.

Minimum amount of 803 euros, in the RGI

The agreement reached between these three formations establishes an increase in the amounts of the Income Guarantee Income (RGI), and sets the mechanism for updating them in accordance with the poverty risk rate calculated in the INE’s ‘Living Conditions Survey’ for the State as a whole or in the ‘Official Survey of Poverty and Inequalities of Euskadi’. According to the data provided by Elkarrekin Podemos, this mechanism means that the minimum amount of the RGI would be 803 euros; In fact, the Basque Government’s draft budget for next year allocates 312 million euros to the RGI, with the forecast that the amount of this benefit will increase by 8.5%, and, in addition, 173 million euros for the Minimum Vital Income and 80 million euros for Complementary Housing Benefit.

In parallel, measures are planned to “minimize” the risk that there are recipients who are left without coverage due to possible defects in form, “thus suffering damages that are difficult or impossible to repair in their vital projects”, as explained by Elkarrekin Podemos.

The text has also included the elimination of the prior registration requirement for vulnerable groups, such as refugees, victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation, victims of sexist violence and others. In turn, this requirement will be reduced to one year for families with dependent minors or elderly dependents or with disabilities.

In addition, modifications have been established in the inspection system, with the intention of making the processing, perception and monitoring of the social benefits included in the law “more respectful and guaranteeing”, which contemplates a reinforcement of Lanbidethe body that manages the RGI, for which it is committed to providing it with sufficient personnel and with specific training.