Last Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in France to protest the rise in the cost of living compared to the very weak evolution of wages. It was the second strike Cross-industry in just two months, in a country with lower inflation, less unemployment and better wages than Spain, and yet it’s already starting its special warm autumn. Will we see a social boom like the French boom here? “Of course” he guesses UGT deputy general secretary and head of collective bargaining, Mariano Hoya. “Neither business people nor the government seem to remember that a man with a cell phone in February managed to stop nearly half the country,” he adds, referring to the protest of airlines that were virtually unorganized in a highly volatile industry. to highlight the logistics chains of key sectors such as food.
“It is not always known when a protest will break out. What is clear is that we have all the ingredients on the table to make it happen here. When? This is more difficult to predict, as the disturbance can remain dormant for a long time. For example, the 15-M occurred three years after the onset of the 2008 crisis, but different crises have overlapped since then and it seems very unlikely that some kind of epidemic would not occur,” says the sociologist and expert. social movements Josep Maria Antentas.
“Significant conflicts have occurred in recent months, as has happened in the metal sector. Ourense, lava, Asturias anyone Cadizwas the most media. But in general they are not of the same importance as in France, because unlike refineries they do not directly affect daily life”, thinks the CCOO trade union action secretary, Mari Cruz Vicente. Currently in the country of Gaul, these pauses have managed to leave 30% of gas stations without fuel, resulting in repeated images of angry drivers forming long queues and their vehicles not being refueled. In Spain, a potentially similar conflict was defused in the summer when centers — after the threat of strikes — agreed to a new deal at Repsol that guaranteed them wage increases comparable to the CPI and protected the purchasing power of those workers.
The roadmap of the Spanish unions does not currently pass through the same coordinates or scenarios, More than the French. In the neighboring country, centers are betting on escalating the conflict by bringing together protests from various sectors, which has heightened media repercussions. Here, CCOO and UGT organize protests and strikes when each has the greatest chance of success in obtaining adequate salary and workforce improvements, while committing to putting the interests of each union or company first. “Strikes are useful and successful when they provide solutions and good deals. And it’s not always easy to coordinate different sectors to achieve good results,” says Hoya.
Sociologist Antentas also lowers the possibility of a sudden eruption of protest, as France is experiencing, which he emphasizes, even if it does not block the country. And although Spain has worse material conditions on paper, “a long tradition mobilization from the left,” he recalls. Another prominent element is the political color of the government in each country. Organizations that traditionally advocate social protests do not respond to a centre-right president like Emmanuel Macron like a left-wing coalition headed by Pedro Sánchez. “They have taken measures that don’t usually go out of the headlines, but have a certain impact. deactivator and not perceived as hostile. Maybe not enough, but no hostile like a cut in public wages,” adds Antentas.
No public conflict
“The ability to mobilize the public sector is one of the keys to the mobilizations in France, and we have managed to reach an agreement here,” says the CCOO trade union action secretary. The same Wednesday, the plants officially signed with the Government that they have salaries officers 9.5% increase between 2022-2024. At the moment the schedule of the majority centers is focused on the private sector, and sector by sector – for example the metal industry in Barcelona and Tarragona for the last week of October – they are preparing a big demonstration in Madrid on November 3, in addition to any conflicts that may arise. From there, if there is no progress in negotiating with the bosses, they plan to move on to a second phase of “broad strikes” where they will aim to bring the different sectors together in a strategy more similar to the French strategy.
“It’s costing us a lot to reach agreement at the convention tables,” says the Pimec general secretary. Joseph Ginesta. “And the low weight of SMEs in collective bargaining complicates things. Because when things go well, they go well for everyone. But when things go wrong, small and medium-sized companies often have a hard time keeping up with the terms signed by large companies,” he adds.
Major CEOE employers are not alarmed because footage from France can be copied right here. The sources consulted reiterate their confidence in the social dialogue charts they share with the unions, “the largest infrastructure the country has and has proven to be greater than in France.” “This shows social peace that we have”, from the organization he chaired Antonio Garamendi.
However, the unions are not very optimistic about the preservation of this social peace. “Employers are driving us into conflict,” says CCOO’s collective bargaining officer. “When workers begin to see how the rise is mortgage endanger their home or fail to pay. heating We will have a problem in the winter months. I’m afraid of it. Either we’re negotiating a pay raise for everyone or this could get out of control,” says the UGT counterpart.