Political agents position themselves at the gates of a decisive week for labor reform

The PNV, EH Bildu and ERC groups will show their strength these days before the labor reform decree, highly criticized by the entire left-wing bloc and which at the moment does not have the approval of any of them. The negotiations clock has margin until Thursday February 3, when the decree will be debated in the Congress of Deputies.

The validation or repeal of the labor reform agreed with employers and unions and that the coalition Executive wants to leave “intact” indicates that today it could be saved with the support of Ciudadanos and other minority parties.

For their part, various political agents, including parties and unions, have expressed in recent days that they will continue to reject the decree, and have made its conditions clear.

Positions and prospects for Thursday

The Vice-Lehendakari and Minister of Labor and Employment, Idoia Mendia, has asked the 18 Basque deputies present in the Congress of Deputies to support the labor reform and has warned the nationalist unions that “changes are made in the Official Gazette”.

In an interview with Cadena Ser, Mendia stated that the modification of the agreed labor framework represents “an advance in rights for the working class.” Thus, it has opted to respect the agreement reached between the central executive, employers, CCOO and UGT, since “the social agents have a role that the Constitution gives them.”

For his part, the president of the EBB of the PNV, Andoni Ortuzar insisted in a recent interview on the program ‘Boulevard’ of Radio Euskadi in which “the PNV will vote ‘no’ if the prevalence of the Basque framework is not guaranteed”. In that sense, he clarified that he has personally transferred it to all the interlocutors at the negotiating table.

In addition, the president of the Basque PP, Carlos Iturgaiz, has accused the PNV this Sunday on social networks of “following” EH Bildu and only knowing how to “attack business sectors.”

Ortuzar follows in the footsteps of Urkullu and his veiled criticism and threats to employers and Basque businessmen is our daily bread. The PNV is radicalized by following what Bildu does, and only knows how to attack business sectors. The arrogance of the PNV is serious pic.twitter.com/An8oBigpfO

– Carlos Iturgaiz (@carlositurgaiz) January 30, 2022

Iturgaiz has referred to an interview granted by Ortuzar to El Correo, in which the Jeltzale leader points out that the central government must “firm up with the bosses”, who “cannot take Congress hostage”.

In the opinion of the popular leader, Ortuzar follows “in the footsteps of Urkullu and his veiled criticism and threats to employers and Basque businessmen are our daily bread.”

On the other hand, the spokesperson for EH Bildu in the Congress of Deputies Mertxe Aizpurua, interviewed this week on ‘Boulevard’, has pointed out that, if the labor reform agreement is not modified, they will not endorse it in any way, since “it would be to perpetuate Rajoy’s reform”.

“The proposal they make us does not change anything agreed between the Government, employers and the CCOO and UGT unions. It is an agreement not to repeal the labor reform. Ours, on the other hand, are common sense proposals,” he clarified.

The EH Bildu spokeswoman has been convinced that a bill following the agreement would not be enough, “because that would not serve to protect workers” and because “we cannot be subject to interpretations made reform”.

Demonstrations in Hegoalde

This Sunday they have taken place in the capitals of Hegoalde paths demonstrations organized by ELA, LAB, Steilas, ESK, Etxalde and Hiru. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to reject the agreement reached for labor reform.

The ELA coordinator in Navarra, Imanol Pascual, explained that the objective of these demonstrations has been “to denounce that the agreement reached in Madrid on labor reform represents a great victory for the employers”.

He stressed that the employers saw ten years ago “how Rajoy approved a reform to his measure, and ten years later it has a reform that maintains the most regressive elements” of it, and “it also does so in agreement with PSOE, with United We Can, UGT and CCOO”.

Also the head of collective bargaining of the ELA union, Pello Igeregi, visited Euskadi Irratia’s ‘Goiz Kronika’ program this Sunday, and clarified that there are two areas where the Basque trade union majority marks the “red line” and that, therefore, “inevitably” would have to be modified: “that of dismissals and the reference to collective bargaining”.