30 January: general strike in the Basque Country

After two years of weekly rallies to denounce their critical situation, the Basque retired people suggested to step up the mobilisations in defence of decent pensions. The Social Rights Charta from Euskal Herria has accepted this challenge and has announced a series of mobilisations including the above mentioned general strike.

Besides the struggle for decent pensions, the general strike will focus on two more issues: the need of good jobs and the defence of social rights. All three issues -pensiones, employment and social rights- are closely connected and in the coming months will be the core demands of the social actors that conform the Social Rights Charta.

The working class is suffering a continuous deterioration of its working and living conditions; poverty is growing and the social coverage is insufficient. ELA is aware that if we don't take our demands to the streets they won't be in the political agenda; we think that strike is a great opportunity to place our demands in the focus of the political debate. We are struggling to recover all that has been taken away from us in the last ten years. We are now going on the offensive.

In order to achieve that aim we have put together a set of demands in the three mentioned areas: Pensions, Empoyment and Social Rights. Among other issues, we call for a minimum pension of 1.080 euros, retiring age at 65 years, minimum wage of 1.200 euros, 35 hour working week, derogation of the reforms on labor legislation and collective negotiation passed in the last years, a guarantee for social rights, etc.

Attached the Manifesto of the Social Rights Charta