Unfortunately, Spain is increasingly polarized, and this makes it impossible to reach the necessary State agreements that allow society to establish the foundations for the coexistence of different generations. In recent weeks we have witnessed a sample of this tension, in which there are people who discuss the legitimacy of the results of the last general elections.
In Spain we live in a representative democracy. The people directly choose the legislative power and the configuration of majorities in this power elects the president of the Spanish Government, who in turn appoints the executive power. This democratic purity is what we live with the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. Only the judiciary in our country remains with the expired mandate.
Precisely this tense political criticism has been transferred to this power of the State in an anomalous situation – the General Council of the Judiciary – which, in the name of the same division of powers, should not have made political pronouncements on projects legislatures that have not yet passed into the judicial sphere. The accommodation to the legal system of new measures of grace (which in the past have been effective in terms of coexistence and economic recovery), will have to be transferred, in any case, to the Constitutional Court. Social and political coexistence, and the end of the clash between institutions, must be the main goal.
All this noise should not hide the main challenges that affect our society, citizens and companies. The previous legislature achieved an advance in social rights that has rarely been experienced in our history.
The challenge for the legislature that begins is a capital one. The investiture pact expresses commitments such as the bet decided by social dialogue. This instance seems fundamental to us given the complexity of the challenges we face as a product of the epochal transformations we are experiencing. There is no one like the organizations of working people and companies to cooperate in the face of changes, to consolidate rights and improve the economy. For this reason, we believe that it is necessary to develop article 129 of the Constitution, and to open the door of democracy to companies with greater participation of their workers.
We share the need for the Labor Statute of the 21st century. The current text is an amended version of the original from 1980. It is clear that the needs and challenges in labor relations have changed. Telecommuting did not exist, claims about the reconciliation of personal and work life were not a priority and promoting the prevention of mental health in the workplace had not broken the social taboo.
From CC.OO. and the UGT are looking for the consolidation of rights in which progress was made in the last legislature. The increase in the interprofessional minimum wage, which must continue to increase until it is guaranteed by law at least 60% of the average wage. It is necessary to convert this legislative mandate into that of full employment.
There are areas in which we ask the new progressive government to be ambitious. The reduction of working hours and the regulation of dismissal are just two examples. The coalition of left-wing forces is committed to reducing the legal maximum working day to 37 and a half hours per week. The proposal goes in the right direction, given that it represents the first reduction in working hours since the 40-hour working week was implemented in 1983. There is still a long way to go to reach 35 hours, which, in our opinion, have to achieve at the end of this period of sessions. Productivity improvements must be spread between capital, investment and labour, and the reduction of working hours is an effective measure for this.
In this legislature, the guarantees for workers against unjustified dismissal must be fixed, and the European Social Charter must be complied with. This commitment is one of the elements that will mark the near future, in which working people must recover fair protection, which discourages dismissals without cause.
Citizens granted a correlation of parliamentary forces that determines a plural majority, and prevents the arrival of the extreme right in government. It is necessary for the central government, the result of the majority will of the Spanish people, to take action so that we can continue to recover and consolidate rights. The UGT and CC.OO. we will fight hard for all of this.
