Civil servants’ unions call for protests on October 30 and point to a strike in December if there is no salary increase
The three most representative unions in the public sector—UGT, CCOO and CSIF— They will gather on October 30 in front of the Ministry of Public Function led by Óscar López and before Government subdelegations throughout the country to demand a new salary agreement for public employees.
The power plants They presented this Tuesday the calendar of mobilizations with which it seeks to pressure the Executive to come to the table to negotiate a salary improvement after more than nine months in which public salaries remain frozen. If they do not achieve their goals, the protests will grow and a “big rally” will be held in November with an eye on a “national strike” in December if the negotiations remain stagnant by then.
In a note signed jointly by the three unions, which have put aside their differences to form a common front, they state that workers’ problems “get worse every day due to the inaction of the ministry”. Beyond the salary demand, UGT, CCOO and CSIF demand that replacement rates be eliminated (which limit the supply of public employment) and that measures be taken to appease temporary employment in the public sector.
In any case, the most important thing is the salary issue, an area in which the three organizing unions demand “recover purchasing power, improve working conditions and establish an employment plan” for public administration. In the remuneration territory, the three unions have not yet decided whether to propose a common platform. They prioritize forcing the Government to come to the negotiating table and demand that the administration be the one to make the first offer.
From CCOO they consider that “it is not acceptable” to have public salaries frozen. “Salaries in the private sector are rising by 3.7% and our salaries are frozen,” said Lucho Palazzo, coordinator of the union’s Public Area. Palazzo has criticized the “situation of abandonment” in which, he believes, public employees find themselves and has pointed out that “no mobilization scenario is ruled out”.
On the part of UGT, they demand that the Government unblock the negotiation table. “We have been demanding months with a date, agenda and commitment from the Public Service”commented Isabel Araque, secretary of UGT Public Services. “We ask for a new agreement where there has to be a salary increase, with review clauses so that purchasing power is not lost,” he said.
On the CSIF side, they consider that Óscar López “despises and blocks the negotiation.” “It is an undemocratic situation to ignore public servants. There are more than three million of us and the same Government that praises us also mistreats us because it owes us money,” said Miguel Borra, president of the center. “This Government, which demands improvements from private employers, forgets its obligations as employers in the public sphere,” he added. From CSIF they have demanded that the salaries of civil servants be updated each year by law, just as happens with public pensions.
