Bilbao (EFE).- The members of the CCOO, LAB and UGT unions, which make up the majority in the Bizkaia metal roundtable, and the sector’s employers’ association, FVEM, have accepted the proposal for a collective agreement made by the Basque Government.
This endorsement brings closer the signing of an agreement, which the ELA union continues to oppose.
The signing of the agreement will put an end to a labor conflict that has led to eleven days of strikes in recent months in the most important sector of the Vizcaya industry, metal, where more than 50,000 people work.
During the day, the CCOO, LAB and UGT metal unions have gathered their respective affiliates in an assembly to discuss the matter. The CCOO and LAB have done so in the morning and the UGT in the afternoon, and in all three meetings the last offer of an agreement from the mediators of the Basque Government has been approved.
The three unions have indicated that the support of their affiliates to the proposal has been very majority, for which reason the assemblies have ratified the proposal presented by the Basque Government’s Ministry of Employment and Labor.
15% more CPI salary increase
Archive image of one of the mobilizations to put pressure on the negotiation of the Bizkaia metal agreement. EFE/Miguel Toña
The new proposal of the mediators appointed by the Basque Executive proposes an agreement for the period 2022-25 and a salary increase of 15% with a review clause in accordance with the CPI for each year of validity of the collective agreement, among other contents.
In addition to the salary question, the Basque Government’s proposal offers subrogation for facility personnel, the start of permits and licenses on a working day, and the enjoyment of what is established by jurisprudence, as well as 8 hours of free disposition, 4 of they are non-recoverable.
It also includes improvements of up to 28,000 euros in disability and death insurance at work and the inclusion of LGTBEI+ people in harassment protocols.
The employer supports the agreement
The governing bodies of the Vizcaya Federation of Metal Companies, FVEM, have also given the green light to the proposal presented by the Basque Government.
The metallurgical employers have highlighted that this ratification “represents a significant effort on the part of the companies” and that it is accepted “from a perspective committed to the future, with the industry and with the people who work in the sector.”
ELA does not see improvements
ELA, for its part, has warned that it does not see improvements in the metal of Bizkaia after the mediation of the Basque Government and has considered the last offer insufficient “both in salaries and in other sections”.
The decision of his militancy on the contents raised in the mediation of the Basque Government will be adopted in an assembly next Tuesday, as indicated in a note.
He has criticized, however, that “with almost identical content, the other unions defended the strike; Now, however, after the staging -with the mediation of the Executive-, they are willing to sign, “he lamented.
As he stated, by requesting his mediation, “CCOO, LAB and UGT have legitimized a Basque Government that throughout the negotiation process has aligned itself with the employers’ positions” and “has sent the Ertzaintza against the workers” during the protests .
EFE