The Metropolitan Area of ??Barcelona (AMB) has brought together the social and economic agents in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelonès North) in a day where all of them have shown themselves in favor of social and economic concertation in the metropolis of Barcelona, ??at the time that have highlighted the model promoted by the AMB through the Reactivation and Reindustrialization Board.
Montserrat Ballarín, vice-president of the AMB’s Social and Economic Development Area, will participate in the conference; Blanca Padrós, deputy mayor of the economy, internal services, work, universities, innovation and transparency of the Santa Coloma de Gramenet City Council; Antón Costas, president of the Economic and Social Council of Spain; Javier Pacheco, general secretary of CCOO Catalonia; Joan Roget, vice-president of Foment del Treball and president of FEDEQUIM; Antoni Cañete, president of PIMEC; Camil Ros, general secretary of UGT de Catalunya; Francesc Castellana, president of the Economic and Social Council of Barcelona; Raquel Gil, commissioner of Employment Promotion and Policies against Labor Precarity of the Barcelona City Council; Aurora Huerga, secretary of Nuevas Realidades del Trabajo, Territorio y Migraciones of CCOO; and Toni Mora, president of the Economic and Social Labor Council of Catalonia.
The representatives of the different social and economic entities have agreed to defend the importance of dialogue and collaboration to find solutions to the main problems derived from globalization, digitization, climate change and the health crisis, as well as to promote development sustainable and balanced of the metropolitan territory. They have also emphasized attracting talent, overcoming the digital divide, promoting dual training and progress towards gender equality to allow the progress of welfare state societies.
In the words of the vice president of the Social and Economic Development Area of ??the AMB, Montserrat Ballarín, “the AMB must be capable of becoming an even more proactive actor, with implications at different levels that provide answers to a new complex reality that poses multiple challenges”.
The will of the AMB is to continue working so that the metropolitan territory is a center of opportunities that is based on equality, social cohesion and inclusive economic development. In this sense, Ballarín added that “we must work so that digitization reaches all the realities of the economy and society and that it gives space for participation to all”. “Likewise, it is necessary to work to overcome the gender gap, both in salary and in the responsibility of women in the management of companies,” she added.
The instrument available to the AMB to achieve the social agreement of unions, employers and local, regional governments and the State itself, is the Reactivation and Reindustrialization Table, a process of joint reflection that emerged in 2017. Currently, the Table draws, through Through 420 actions, what the metropolis of the future should be like and what aspects it should promote to be even more resilient, sustainable and equitable.
Some of the main proposals of this diagnosis are measures for business innovation and public R&D to face strategic challenges such as the fourth industrial revolution, accelerate the technological transition of the metropolitan industry, promote inter-administrative collaboration, decentralize the tourism model towards the metropolis of Barcelona with a sustainable model, modernize industrial estates and promote energy efficiency.
To overcome the current economic crisis, effective dialogue and collaboration between government, unions and business is necessary. Social consultation can help to design and apply public policies and measures that promote investment, employment and economic growth.
Regarding the energy transition and the fight against climate change, Europe and Spain have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Social consultation can help design and implement policies and measures to accelerate transition to renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
On the other hand, Europe and Spain face challenges such as discrimination, poverty and unemployment. Social consultation is necessary to design and implement policies and measures that promote social inclusion and equality, and address the root causes of exclusion and discrimination.
