Javier Pacheco Serradilla (Barcelona, 1970) demands more power and speed from governments in their actions against the CPI crisis. general secretary CCOO Catalonia Referring to the Spanish Constitution, it legitimizes a temporary intervention of key sectors of the economy so that “the people can eat and get by”. He makes harsh accusations against the Government, which by now thinks it has “disappeared” from the CPI crisis, and warns that there is no need to wait until autumn, warning that the current scenario is already a complex one for thousands of families.
-Bread is rising, gasoline is rising… Will CCOO raise the wages of its members?
– We are working on it. We have a linked fee monthly salary People go in sections. We look at how to do it, as not everyone is affected by inflation in the same way. Changing partitions is an option. We’ll discuss it in September, taking into account the January membership increase. But let’s not forget that we want people not to lose their purchasing power, not to stop earning to avoid paying for it. membership fee. And we’re not a company, we don’t raise prices thinking about profit.
-How does the association recognize the IPC crisis in its membership data?
-We already have a brake coming from the crisis. covid, despite an increase in the active working population. Of course, every month with thousands of workers in bye and losing purchasing power affected their decisions about what they were spending. We also see how many productive sectors are in the current transition period, with some of the more productive ones. unionizedlaid off people like the automotive industry or banking. And that translates into losses in our membership.
– Half of the big companies are increasing their profits at the full rise of the IPC, while the fees are moving far below. Why is this happening?
-First, because patronage culture this maintains the inertia of the financial crisis. They saw that they could increase their profit margins and earn a rent. productive economy. And now they are still the same. If they can’t see that if wages don’t go up, domestic demand will drop and sales will drop, we have a problem. They’re shooting themselves in the foot. we tighten collective bargaining. Not just for an element of justice, but because the way out of the covid crisis needs a rhythm and the economy will not recover that way.
Do you think governments see it this way?
We miss clearer messages from administrations. to understand Rental contract Confronting inflation as an element of the country’s impoverishment is a strategic mistake that can put society in many troubles. First Vice President’s Proposal [Nadia Calviño] When the Finance Minister says it’s not time to change the collection criteria, making an income agreement on limiting salaries and commercial aid… is a message of the impoverishment of the economy. The same message workforce development [Josep Sánchez Llibre]. You have to look not only at the elite, but also at the population as a whole.
How should the government intervene to control inflation?
– It is necessary to rebalance rents by controlling prices so that they do not rise uncontrollably. The state has to collect more than those who earn more money to distribute to the public. most vulnerable. And wages need to go up more. We don’t want anything from the other world, just purchasing power from the workers. The government has hitherto lacked the courage to take more effective measures against inflation, instead relying on those who are inadequate and useless, for example, 20 cents for gasoline.
Should the government limit food?
-Yes, the government should put a maximum limit on the prices of some basic foods in the shopping cart. It’s time to intervene in the economy with double-digit inflation. And you can do this without having to go through Brussels. Or if not, what did it do to the rent that couldn’t go up more than 2%? It’s not about regulating the market forever, it’s about interfering temporarily in favor of the general interest. So that people can eat and make a living. It is in Article 128. constitution: “All the riches of the country, in different forms and whatever their ownership, are subject to the general interest.”
– Without these elements on the table, will CCOO be in a revenue agreement?
-The government abandoned a path that was very successful during the pandemic: social dialogue. And in the face of the elections, he went to coup politics. Do we take good care of the suggestions you’ve put on the table so far? Yes, but no agreement and insufficient reach an income agreement and stop this inflation. I guess they don’t want to bother strong. But be careful, let’s take a look at what happened in the last election: If people don’t have enough, they start looking for alternatives.
– How should the state intervene? Government of Catalonia?
– To begin with, the entity. It has completely disappeared and hidden until now. What did you do? Nothing, absolutely nothing. The commission to monitor the war in Ukraine convened by the ‘President’ convened only once. Up to seven times a new meeting has been postponed. this Department of Economics [dirigido por Junts] does not want to sit with social agencies and the Presidency [dirigida por ERC] Whistle We ask you to sit down too, because it doesn’t have the same powers as the State, so focus at least on providing solutions to the most vulnerable. Some of the beneficiaries Guaranteed Citizenship Income they migrate Minimum Living Income because this rate has increased by an extraordinary 15% and Catalonia has not reassessed its minimum income.
– Is it acceptable to remove inheritance and estate taxes demanded by the Junts?
-He’s an animal. It would be to finish unloading the model Welfare state, which is already stunted. Why don’t they want to provide primary health care? Continuing to increase the number of policies with private first-line mutual insurance companies, as has been the case since we started coming out of the pandemic. He is dismantling a model to implement another model that benefits several people’s pockets.
-Is an autumn as complex as some predict?
-This, spring It was already complicated and summer… especially for those who can’t make it to the end of the month. We are facing a crisis where a good portion of society is already suffering and what we are seeing right now is a recovery in summer activity but it is based on social classes. But there are many people who are rethinking doing it now. Celebration. A report from the European Trade Union Confederation says 4.6 million workers in Spain cannot go on vacation. In the fall, if we continue to deepen this loss of purchasing power, the lack of consumption will stall the economy. How and how much? It is very difficult to measure right now. What is clear is that if we don’t act with the variables at hand, the economy will collapse.