Employer and unions have reached an agreement in principle late on Wednesday to call off the general strike in Cádiz after nine days of mobilizations and protests by workers in the metal sector in the province, according to government sources confirmed to RTVE.
Although the details are not yet known, the agreement has been reached after a meeting that lasted more than 10 hours and in which the social agents have finally agreed to end the strike. The sources consulted by RTVE affirm that the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, contributed to the preliminary agreement by discreet negotiations with both parties.
“We celebrate the agreement between businessmen and metal workers in Cádiz”, the minister of Hacienda, Maria Jesus Montero, in a message posted on twitter. “Cádiz has to continue looking directly at its present and its industrial future. And, despite the difficulties, the Government will continue to bet on the bay,” he added. Vice President Yolanda Díaz also held the dialogue. “This agreement must be a step forward in the future of the Bay of Cádiz. Waiting for workers to ratify the pre-agreement it’s great news “, has pointed out in the same social network.
Along the same lines, the president of the Junta de Andalucía has expressed himself, Juanma Moreno, who has shown his satisfaction with the pre-agreement reached. “I am glad that companies and metal workers have reached an agreement. Dialogue is the way to reach consensus,” he pointed out on his official Twitter account, where he thanked the Andalusian Regional Government technicians “for their mediation. and to the parties to seek understanding. ”
The The main stumbling block in the negotiation has revolved around the amount of the salary increase. The workers’ representatives requested a salary increase linked to the CPI for this year, a salary increase of 2.5% plus the annual CPI in 2022 and a 3% increase in CPI in 2023.
The agreement will have to be endorsed in assembly
For its part, the Federation of Metal Entrepreneurs of Cádiz (FEMCA), had made an initial proposal for an initial salary increase of 0.5%, 1.5% next year and 1.5% in 2023.
Since the strike began, employers and unions had sat down to negotiate up to three times, but without reaching an agreement on any of them. Before this Wednesday’s meeting, the employers had offered a 2% improvement in workers’ wages in 2021 and 2022 and 2.5% in 2023. They also suggested that at the end of these two years salaries be reviewed and updated with respect to the CPI.
“We had been working on a matrix with four variables: validity, arrears, CPI and rise of the agreement. The feeling we have is that we have gained a year of validity, “the general secretary of FEMCA, Pepe Muñoz, explained during an interview in La noche en 24 horas.” It has cost us a lot, but what we have achieved we will endorse it in the bodies of the entities, “he added.
Muñoz has indicated, on the other hand, that they have not had contact with anyone from the Ministry of Industry or Reyes Maroto, but there has been evidence that there has been mediation. “The Ministry has managed to unblock some positions. Also the Junta de Andalucía”, has stood out.
Pepe Muñoz (Femca), on the metal pre-agreement: “It has cost us a lot, but what we have achieved we are going to refer to it”
After this agreement, more than a week of demonstrations and confrontations between the police and protesters in which the workers from Cadiz, most of them temporary contracts, demanded compliance with the collective agreement and the improvement of their labor rights came to an end.
The agreement will have to be endorsed in an assembly by the companies starting this Thursday. In addition, as agreed, there will be a commission to monitor compliance with the signed agreement.
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