LAB and CC. OO. They will participate in the health pact to undo the ‘privatizations’

The lehendakari Imanol Pradales met on Monday with the highest representatives of LAB and CC. OO. in Ajuria Enea, within the round of contacts initiated with social actors to discuss their proposal to reach a consensus on a pact on health. Both the general secretary of LAB, Garbine Aranburusuch as that of CC. OO., Loli Garciahave indicated their willingness to participate in the negotiations, as they consider it necessary to reverse the current ‘privatisation’ model.

Aranburu has informed the Lehendakari that the union is willing to participate in the Health Pact but has warned that “requires that agreement be reached with the majority of employees” and has defended the need to “make a radical change” in policy with more investment and measures to “reverse the policy of privatization and consultation”. “You cannot talk about the need for strong public health and at the same time privatize services,” he stressed.

The LAB spokesperson explained that they have presented to the Lehendakari “the need to change policies” on four key issues. The first of the issues that have been tabled is “the need to improve salaries and working conditions”. minimum salary of 1600 euros and the need to ensure that the right to collective bargaining for domestic workers is made effective.” They also raised the need to strengthen public services. “Our priorities are health care, housing and care“, has explained.

Finally, when asked whether they have responded to the calls for mobilizations of trade unions, Aranburu explained that his union has always defended that “mobilization is not an end in itself.” “When we mobilize, we see that there are no possibilities for negotiation and dialogue That won’t change. That doesn’t mean we can’t be part of that negotiating process,” he said.

For her part, the Secretary General of CC. OO. Euskadi, Loli Garciaexpressed the union’s willingness to participate in the health pact, because “it is one of the main problems facing citizens and requires urgent solutions in the short, medium and long term” with measures to “strengthen the Basque health system, not only in what has to do with its staff, but also the strategic planning and management of the Basque Health Service”, and warned the Lehendakari that “the path of privatizations is not the path that CC.OO is taking”.

According to him, they have told the Lehendakari that “the path of privatisation is not the path that CC.OO. is going to take.” “We are very critical and we are against that model,” he stressed before emphasising that the union will participate with a series of proposals.

He also called for “real negotiations in the public space” and “to move towards a scenario of development and expansion of public services, as a means of redistribution of wealth for all citizens and guarantees of non-discrimination.” “We need civil servants who have a Collective bargaining Real where they can also improve their working conditions, which do not exist today in the Basque Country”, he defended. In this sense, they have made clear to the Lehendakari the need “not to criminalize the struggle of workers to improve their working conditions. to bargain collectively”.

Finally, as regards language policy, CC. OO. considers it necessary to “restore the consensus that has existed around the Basque Country in recent decades”. The general secretary of CCOO Euskadi has stated that “it is necessary to guarantee the sociolinguistic rights of all citizens” because “every citizen of this country has the right to be cared for in one of the two official languages.” “We want to facilitate bridges and not build walls that are difficult to cross. We believe that this must be done make the linguistic profile model more flexible“, he claimed.