ELA starts up a campaign against job insecurity and labour misery

Nov 16, 2015

ELA has launched an ambitious informative campaign with which it wants to make the commitment made by the political and economic power’s to job insecurity visible. Over the next few months, ELA will cover industrial estates and streets with posters and it will hand out hundreds of informational leaflets explaining the terrible consequences of the impoverishment that the powers that be want to impose on us and the alternatives proposed by the Trade Union.

Along with the general secretary Adolfo Muñoz “Txiki”, the deputy general secretary Amaia Muñoa and the general secretaries of the three federations all took part in the presentation of the campaign.

The campaign will have three general communication points. The first one, the denouncement of the extension of starvation wages, the increase in business profits and the increase in inequalities. The second, to defend the Trade Union’s value as an instrument to organise and strengthen the collective identity compared to individualism; class solidarity against “every man for himself”. The third point, to give value to the trade union fight compared to union, social and political resignation. A democratic society without any social conflicts verges on becoming a dictatorship.

In addition, the Trade Union also intends to limit the effect of the propaganda given out by governments and employer organisations regarding growth, which say that growth, by itself reduces inequalities, and to manage to make part of society support the claim against low salaries. ELA wants to put the distribution of wealth and dignity at work at the centre of the debate.

During the campaign’s presentation, Muñoz underscored the fact that wages are the main route for distribution of wealth. The drop in wages is the result sought by governments and employer organisations with the reforms. On this point, the campaign will insist on the consequences of general impoverishment that a society with low wages leads to. The miracle of growth consists of spreading labour misery and of increasing profits and salaries – bonuses - for the companies’ executives. It explains the two sides of the coin: labour misery and obscene profits and rewards.

The campaign questions the public authorities about their wage and work conditions policy. The public sector determines a certain model of society as it makes decisions as an employer: it has destroyed collective bargaining; it eliminates many jobs and it is the forerunner in outsourcing policies. It is also worth remembering that the Popular Initiative is being processed about clauses for public outsourcing, an area which we will monitor very closely. The amendments are aimed at ensuring that nothing can prevent bidding for contracts using amounts that stop the collective bargaining agreements from being met; over and above the fact that the bid may not be large enough for the work to be performed and extra costs will have to be approved (using highly questionable procedures).

The campaign also denounces the blocking position that the employer organisations hold to cancel any collective bargaining. ELA wants to take away the legitimacy of the behaviour by these employee organisations and the support they receive from governments for two of their commitments: worsening working conditions and attacking trade unionists. And the fact is that, without any doubt, another of the campaign’s targets is to activate trade union action and collective bargaining in both sectors and companies. Obviously, all the above mentioned, if worked on correctly, will mean an improved organisation of the trade union and a greater level of commitment to take on job insecurity.

ELA’s campaign against job insecurity will continue throughout 2016. During this time, the chosen communication points of the campaign will appear and disappear. Different actions are planned, confederate, regional, in sectors and companies, which will take shape as time goes by.

The Trade Union encourages its members as a whole to actively take part in this campaign against job insecurity with which it intends to emphasise the value of the Trade Union struggle as opposed to Trade Union, social and political resignation.