Congresses of the three federations of ELA

At the Congresses, the work plans for each federation were approved, and their respective general secretaries and Standing Committees were elected. The leaders of the three federations agreed that the distribution of wealth as the central focus of collective bargaining and the fight against precarious employment and the gender gap are priorities for the coming years.

At the ELA-Gizalan (public services) Congress, a federation with 34,416 members, Igor Eizagirre was re-elected as general secretary (with 90.78% of the vote). In his speech, Igor Eizagirre highlighted the federation's work in recent years. “The previous congress left us with a mandate: there is a strategy underway to dismantle public services that we must combat. And we have fulfilled that mandate; we have not looked the other way, as demonstrated by the strikes and mobilizations we have promoted in almost all areas of the public sector. We want to continue along the path we have begun. We will continue to confront this strategy of dismantling public services. We will continue fighting. We have tried to summarize the roadmap for the coming years in five resolutions”: 1. Defense of public services as a bulwark against fascism; 2. Organization and mobilization as a means of improvement; 3. Normalization of Basque and defense of linguistic rights; 4. Occupational health and decent working conditions; and 5. Real publicization of care work.

At the ELA-Zerbitzuak (private services) Congress, the 181 delegates representing the 30,992 members elected Ane Alberdi as the new general secretary with 90.61% of the vote. She succeeds Maricruz Elkoro in the position. In her first address as the new general secretary, Ane Alberdi noted that these are “not easy times: fascism is on the rise, gaining ground physically, politically, and in the media, and its discourse is spreading. Antifascist organizing is more necessary than ever. And ELA has a crucial role to play.” “The Zerbitzuak federation has made a clear commitment to deepening its organizing efforts in favour of equality. Organizing for equality is not just a slogan. It is a decision, the compass for our work in the years to come. Our greatest strength lies in the workers, and the role of this union is to put their needs at the forefront. We want to deepen the fight for anti-racism, feminism, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities... We must fight, organize, and broadly politicize the working class in favour of equality.”

At the ELA-Industria eta Eraikuntza (Industry and Construction) Congress, a federation with 38,996 members, Unai Martínez was re-elected as general secretary (with 92.02% of the vote). Martínez emphasized in his speech the importance of organization: “We, as union members, have a duty to generate collective power. We are organizers, and we must empower the working class to take ownership of their future. We must build strength, because otherwise, we will manage consultations, clarify legal doubts, win some cases, and perhaps even sign some decent agreements… But capitalism will lead us, day by day, to become increasingly poor and dependent.” The re-elected general secretary of IEF made the federation's stance for the next four years clear: “We will not take a single step backward in collective bargaining, nor in the defense of jobs. We have a message for employers and governments: We will fight for the redistribution of wealth; we will defend the jobs of our people: Down with the neoliberals!”