The working people of the agricultural sector in Navarre took to the streets this Sunday, November 15, to demand the signing of a collective agreement that "guarantees decent working conditions, better wages, and real recognition for the work carried out by thousands of people in one of the fundamental sectors of our economy".
The march, jointly promoted by the unions CCOO, LAB, UGT and ELA, began at 12.00 hours at the Plaza de los Fueros in Tudela and went through several streets in the Ribera municipality.
In a statement, the union federations recalled that on October 19 they conveyed to the employers an proposal to "move toward an agreement that responds to the real needs of the workforce, for which we are awaiting a response from the employers, but no date has been specified for it and what has been brought forward instead is the difficulty in giving an affirmative response to it".
They have denounced that "the agricultural sector cannot continue to be an essential sector for the economy and, at the same time, maintain working conditions that do not sufficiently recognize the efforts of its workforce", and they have demanded a "real recognition" for those who work in this field "in their wages, their working hours, and their labor rights".
Among their demands, they propose setting a minimum collective-agreement salary of 21,000 euros per year for 2027 and 22,400 euros for 2028, with wage increases above the CPI, reducing working hours, establishing the regular working day from Monday to Friday, and improving the supplements for working on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, "favoring its voluntariness".
They also ask to ensure the free choice of the 30 days of vacation and to recognize two public holidays for cultural or religious celebrations by working people, "to strengthen the rights of fixed-discontinuous staff, guaranteeing their priority in calls over temporary hiring and avoiding the use of ETT and other forms of outsourcing", to strengthen occupational risk prevention, especially in travel to the workplace and in the face of exposure to plant-protection products, and to expand paid leave in the event of the death or serious illness of family members.
As they emphasize, these measures seek to "improve working conditions, advance equality of rights, and correct situations that especially affect a sector with significant levels of job insecurity, discontinuity, and difficulties in reconciling work and family life."
The four organizations have stressed that "management must understand that it is not possible to build the sector's future at the expense of maintaining working conditions that do not sufficiently recognize the effort of those who make it possible."
They have concluded that "it is necessary for improvements to also reach working people, with decent wages, more reasonable working hours, job stability, and greater guarantees of health and safety."