The new Gipuzkoa construction agreement has been signed

Jun 11, 2018
A new Collective Bargaining Agreement for the construction sector of the Territory of Gipuzkoa has been signed today by the trade unions and the employers’ associations.

ELA has given a positive value to the contents of the agreement and the fact that it has been signed by 95% of the trade union representation, particularly when the fundamental advances included in it have been promoted and fostered by the ELA trade union, the first trade union in the sector, with a 60% representation. It is a good agreement for which ELA has congratulated all its members.

The contents of the agreement cannot be understood without the constant reporting and organisation work carried out in recent years. This work has also meant the empowerment of an important part of the sector, who were ready to take an active part in the strikes, which would have taken place if the posture held by the employers’ associations had not changed.

The most important contents endorsed today are already well-known:

  • Validity of the Agreement: 2018-21.

  • Salaries: Increase of RPI+0.4% plus 500 linear euros for each year, therefore, recovering the purchasing power lost from 2009.

  • Shielding” against the labour reform:

- On the one hand, the application of all the contents of the agreement is guaranteed; in spite of the fact that the law, after the labour reform, allows unilateral non-application, the Agreement guarantees that the non-application of the conditions will only occur if an agreement is reached between the parties.

- On the other hand, the agreement will retain its ultra-activity in all its articles until a new agreement is reached.

  • Right to subrogation for road maintenance personnel.

  • It is agreed to create a Commission that includes the obligation for direct payment by the main company, promoter or public administration to the workers affected if a breach of the agreement were to occur. This instrument means an important advance in our target of ensuring that the agreement is totally applied.

ELA has passed on its satisfaction for the contents reached, but at the same time, it has made it clear that it will remain alert regarding any possible breaches. Regrettably, for many years now the companies in the sector have been immersed in a culture where the breach of the most basic labour legislation has been normal. We will continue fighting to bring dignity to the sector and we will take advantage of the new instruments that the new agreement has brought us.