Antonio Pérez is general secretary of Fetico, the majority independent trade union confederation in the field of commerce and with a growing presence in a multitude of productive sectors. He shares the concern about the housing problem, but rejects the call for a general strike that he considers "politicized."
Why don't you support the general strike of November 11?
Neither the Tenants' Union nor the class unions called us. In the call they go with anarcho-syndicalist and anti-capitalist organizations. Therefore, it is very politicized.
But do you think it is justified?
A general strike must have objective and very exhaustive causes. And if it is just before an election, we still have to be more transparent and neater with the explanation of these causes.
Haven't they been?
We share the concern about housing, but one of the targets of the strike are the companies, which do not have the capacity to alter the legislation or lower the cost. The unions accuse the CEOE of blocking salary negotiations for which they are also responsible.
What have CCOO and UGT done wrong?
They have the obligation to build bridges and understand each other with those opposite them. When CCOO and UGT are alone and compete with each other while having a similar identity, they entrench themselves. When there is a third, we manage to unlock.
Should social dialogue be opened to other unions?
We should be able to deploy the same rights as CCOO and UGT in the sectors in which we exceed 10% representation, which is the criterion at the national level. We are the most representative union in the field of commerce, for example, and we do not have those rights. We ask for the same conditions of representativeness in the functional field. That would energize collective bargaining.
Is it an unfair model?
What the workers give us should not be taken away from us by poorly understood legislation. But Fetico is not being robbed of its legitimacy, but rather the workers.
Do you think that CCOO and UGT have neglected their responsibility to negotiate agreements and hence the blockade?
It is not that they have neglected it, it is that it is intentional, based on their own union model of negotiation through force and imposition.
What should be the strategy?
In a high inflation scenario like the current one, negotiations must be activated more than ever to quickly increase workers' salaries. If collective bargaining had been opened, without fear of union competition and in a more democratic way, this would probably not be blocked.
Is the housing problem solved by raising salaries?
The increase in salaries must be done while monitoring the socioeconomic environment. The increase in rents does not affect everyone equally. Many of our workers live on rent and others have rented or purchased apartments. Like the rise in fuel prices, it affects workers differently, because some travel by car and others do not. It is impossible to know how it affects some and others.
So, the solution is not in collective bargaining...
No. The housing problem cannot be fixed by collective agreements. They solve a much simpler problem: putting money in people's pockets so they can pay their bills.
What do they ask for in the commerce sector, where they are the majority?
A salary increase of 16% over three years, plus a non-consolidable payment of 3%, in addition to the implementation of a company pension plan and the reduction of working hours, but negotiated, not imposed by law.
Are public pensions not enough?
A complementary benefit is needed.
What assessment do you make of Yolanda Díaz's management?
The best thing it has done has been to raise the minimum wage, although it has been done with undesirable interventionism, because it has been the only way for people to have seen their wages grow in certain sectors despite the blockage of collective bargaining. They have not received us in eight years, even though we are the third private union. All the bridges are broken.
And the Government's economic policy, in general?
I have mixed feelings. For example, progress has been made in equality policies that have been really good. But, on the other hand, the policy on pension plans has been erratic, chaotic and poorly focused.
What do you ask of the next government?
I would ask a left-wing government to open social dialogue, to address the 21st Century Labor Statute and to once again build bridges with employers and unions so that workers can have much more effective improvements. Let him legislate more slowly but with more depth. And I would ask a right-wing government to understand that unions are necessary and good and to have the courage to open the spectrum.
