On May 1, we return to the streets on a day of justification and acknowledgment of the collective struggle of working people; a struggle to which, not to mention, we owe much of the social progress of this country and region. We commemorate this historic date by remembering those who went before us, paying with liberty or even life, the price for building a social and democratic rule of law, but also with an outstretched hand to the generations who, after a global financial crisis, pandemic and a war breaking out in the heart of Europe have known only uncertainty and loss of rights; young people today encouraging new and legitimate demands for social justice. Together, on this May 1, demand dignity in working conditions, dignity in pensions, in our public services; claim our right to decent housing, to live in an environment that respects the environment, that our origin or our identity or sexual orientation does not detract from our opportunities in life or at work. Everything we have achieved in terms of social dialogue in this last legislature marks the way ahead: a landmark labor reform that has drastically reduced temporary employment, rebalances collective bargaining and consolidates ERTEs in our justice system as a measure to crises without destroying jobs. Also the pension agreements with which we have been able to increase pensions by no less than 8.5%, so that they have not suffered a loss of purchasing power, and an improvement in the system income, which means that we can pay more and better pensions. Without forgetting, on the other hand, the catalog of rights that we have expanded for those who telecommute, for interrupted fixed lines, for domestic workers, for employees on digital platforms, for people on sick leave or for those who earn the minimum interprofessional wage, whose salary is the increased by 47% in the past five years. We must send a strong signal to the parties: we do not accept that what has been achieved so far has an expiration date. Municipal and regional elections are just around the corner and not much further on there are general elections. And working people need to realize how much is at stake, how much our vote decides. We must send a strong signal to political parties: we do not accept that what has been achieved so far has an expiration date; nor that the process we have begun to modernize our industrial relations system be broken down. We must undo all the social and labor discounts imposed after the 2008 crisis, but we must also accelerate to face a socially just digital and environmental transition, manage to shorten a working day that has remained practically unchanged for a century has remained, achieve real and effective equality between women and men, end the scourge of accidents at work that claims the lives of two people every day, and establish severance pay that is a real deterrent to companies and a restorative factor for employees. We are also in a complex economic situation. The economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an immeasurable human drama, are suffered only by the purchasing power of labor income. In this context, it is essential to demand responsibility from companies so that they negotiate decent wages and shoulder some of the costs of the inflationary crisis. It also encourages governments to end speculation and to protect the most vulnerable households, both from the rise in prices affecting essential products, and from the radical increase in the cost of mortgages, on which the ceiling of many families. And it is essential, especially in the Murcia region. A Region with above-average inflation and below-average wage increases. A Region that has made a mark of identity through tax cuts for the most favored, through the degradation of public services, through privatization and through uncertainty. A Region where more than 90,000 people are still unemployed, almost half of whom do not receive benefits. A region at the tail end in terms of social policy and at the forefront in terms of poverty and inequality. With more than 200,000 employees waiting for their collective labor agreement to be updated. In short, many pending topics. It is clear that there are reasons enough again on this May 1st.
Source: La Verdad
I am George Kunkel, an author working for Today Times Live. I specialize in opinion pieces and cover stories that are both informative and thought-provoking – helping to shape public discourse on key issues. My work is regularly featured across the network’s many platforms, including print media and social media.
