Euskal Herria: Greba 22A

The capitalist class is taking advantage of the pandemic to “rationalise”, cut back and, of course, sack workers. However, in the Basque Country a struggle has begun, with thousands of workers resisting unnecessary redundancies.

In the public sector too, especially in health and education, women workers, who have been fighting the coronavirus pandemic on the front line, often in poor and precarious conditions, are demanding stable contracts and dignified conditions.

In a significant step the trade unions ELA, LAB, CCOO, SATSE, STEILAS and ESK have called a public sector general strike on 22 April in the Basque Autonomous Community.

However, it is not only in the public sector that workers are fighting back with mobilisations and strikes. Workers and their unions are opposing what is perceived as the employers taking advantage of the pandemic to reduce the workforce. Workers are outraged that they are being asked to pay for the consequences of the crisis. Several companies are requesting ERTEs (Government supported redundancies) and the workers are resisting.

On 2 February, the management of Sercoin Security Systems informed the trade union representatives of the staff of the start of the collective redundancy procedure in the company. It intends to lay off 19 of the 65 workers. Sercoin workers are mobilising against these 19 announced redundancies.

Tubacex workers in Amurrio and Llodio in Alava have started an indefinite strike in defence of their jobs and against the 150 dismissals announced by company management.

On 5 March, there was a strike and mobilisation in defence of employment in Amurrio and Llodio, under the slogan ‘For a decent job and a decent life in Aiaraldea’.

At the end of 2020 the aeronautical company, Aernnova in Alava presented a redundancy plan for 82 workers. The trade unions have organised a series of demonstrations and protests against the dismissals.

The workers are outraged because they are expected to pay for this crisis. The Basque Government and the PNV (Right-wing Basque nationalist party) have once again shown which side they are on and have accused the Works Committee of engaging in “unacceptable acts of harassment and violence” against some of the managers who are managing the ERTE, just for protesting!

Likewise, in another aeronautical company in Alava, Alestis, workers have mobilised against the redundancies.

Alestis has 1300 employees in its five plants in Andalusia, one in Vitoria and another in Getafe, Madrid and the workers have coordinated actions through the SAT Alestis San Pablo union branch.

On 24 February, the second day of the strike in school canteens and school transport was well supported, with a rally in front of the Parliament to demand the Basque Government consolidate employment in the Basque administration.

The strike went well, despite the abusive “minimum services” requirements imposed by the Basque Government which meant 100% of staff working with under two-year-olds and 100% of the canteen staff, were forced to work. This imposition prevented thousands of workers from exercising their right to strike. The Basque trade union ELA highlighted the paradox of declaring these services essential (which is how they impose ‘minimal’ services) while denying that they are part of the education system.

The Department of Education of the Basque Autonomous Community has caused the loss of 17,000 school meals places and the destruction of nearly 1,000 casual and 1,000 permanent posts. This situation is, in turn, leading to a deterioration in working conditions and an overload of work for those who have kept their jobs.

In the same week there was also widespread support for the strike in the Haurreskolak Consortium (nursery schools) and its educational service. The unions and workers are fighting for free education and integration of the Haurreskolak Consortium into the Department of Education and respect for, and fulfilment of existing agreements.

The Haurreskolak Consortium must be incorporated into the provision of Personal Protective Equipment by Osakidetza (Basque Health service) in public education. It is scandalous that workers in such a key sector suffer “normalised” precarious conditions of temporary work. The fight against the pandemic has shown how important all education and health workers are, but politicians continue to impose these rubbish contracts. This has to stop!

The statistics on public sector employment are a damning indictment of the PNV government. They show

• A public employment rate well below the European average (EU-28, 20% and in the Basque Country 12%),
• A temporary employment rate of over 40%, almost double that of the private sector.
• Today, there are more than 100,000 subcontracted workers in the Basque public sector.

Another important struggle is the long-standing dispute in the Gipuzkoa Old People’s residences. The workers have once again massively supported ELA’s new strike call in the sector, the 247th since the conflict began! The mainly women workers have taken to the streets declaring that the situation is very serious and that, moreover, it has worsened as a result of the pandemic caused by Covid-19. The conflict has lasted 3 years and in March there will be new strike calls.

Cleaning workers will also go on strike again in March in Gipuzkoa. At a press conference, the workers made a very significant statement, linking their exploitation as workers to capitalism:

“Cleaning activity has not been paralysed during the pandemic, but has been reinforced. Why is this? Because the rulers have declared us essential, essential for society and for the economy to be able to carry on safely. Our pandemic is not limited to COVID-19, our main pandemic, for which there is no greater vaccine than the struggle, is called precariousness. A precariousness with a woman’s face, driven by the machismo and the predatory capitalist system”.

It is clear that all the above struggles and many others must be united, so it is a great step forward that the main trade unions in the Basque Country have called a strike in the whole public sector on 22 April. The main demands of ELA, LAB, CCOO, SATSE, STEILAS and ESK are:

• That mechanisms be put in place to put an end to the abuse of temporary contracts. That all the needs of the workforce are identified and satisfied and precarious employment is ended.
• That the public employment offer processes that are already underway should include extraordinary measures in accordance with the needs of each section of public sector workers, as a result of collective bargaining.
• That the administrations put an end to the policy of privatisation and outsourcing.
• A plan to rejuvenate the workforce and encourage early retirement is also essential.

Socialismo Revolucionario agrees with the demands of the general strike of 22 April, but we believe that they must go much further.

Firstly, all jobs must be defended, both in the public and private sectors. Unions must fight to ensure that ERTEs are not used to permanently eliminate jobs. This is even more important than ever, given that unemployment has passed the 4 million mark in the Spanish State. 700,000 jobs have disappeared during the pandemic.

Secondly, the fight must be broader. Workers in the private and public sector have common interests and the economic consequences of the pandemic must be fought in a united struggle.

Thirdly, the struggle is both industrial and political. The working class cannot expect a party of the bosses like the PNV to defend our jobs. We can mobilise and put pressure on the government on the streets, but ultimately the real left must unite around a clear fighting and socialist programme.

Furthermore, the political attacks of neoliberalism, such as the privatisation of public services, low wages and precarious conditions, can be rolled back with struggle, yes, but this struggle must also have a clear programme that fights for a system that puts need before profit and the 99% before the 1%.