The general secretary of CC.OO. in Catalonia, Belén López, and the general secretary of UGT in Catalonia, Camil Ros, have called for a general strike on the coming 11 November and have denounced the attacks by the “reactionary forces” against this call, as López has stated.
Both trade union leaders appeared this Wednesday in a press conference in the Parliament, accompanied by the PSC-Units, ERC and Comuns groups, where they warned of “coordination” among those who oppose the strike by questioning its legality.
López urged participation in the strike in defense of collective organization and to advance rights for social majorities “in the face of those who deny politics, institutions and all intermediating structures and defend a society of individuals competing with one another.”
“This strike comes at a time when working people have said enough. Enough of losing purchasing power, companies break profit record after record; enough of speculating on housing, and also seeing how our public services are each day under greater strain,” the CC.OO. leader said.
The trade union official stressed that the objective is that, as a result of the stoppage, employers’ associations “sit down to negotiate the primary distribution of wealth through wages” and that rules be pushed in all administrations to effectively guarantee the right to housing.
COST OF LIVING AND HOUSING
Ros reproached PP president Alberto Núñez Feijóo for having urged trade unions to call off the strike and has said: “Employers are waiting for their side to win in order to cut.”
He called for a response from trade unionism and collective organization in defense of social justice and democracy, and he linked this mobilization with the electoral results of the ‘midterms’ in the United States, which he described as a “positive wave” after Lula da Silva’s victory in Brazil.
“It is a general strike for hope, hope for things as concrete as being able to make it to the end of the month. Because we know that the cost of living and the cost of housing are two sides of the same coin,” the UGT in Catalonia leader added.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICS AND SOCIAL CONFLICT
López and Ros have thanked the Parliament for the institutional declaration of support for the strike approved this Tuesday by the Board of Spokespersons, with the backing of PSC-Units, ERC, Comuns and CUP; the opposing vote of Junts, PP and Vox, and the abstention of AC.
"Only Junts aligns with PP and Vox by voting against, as it does with housing decrees or the reduction of working hours. (The declaration) shows that there is another way of understanding the relationship between politics and social conflict, away from attacks," the leader of CC.OO. has said, who has highlighted this stance.
Ros has also emphasized the importance of the Parliament adopting statements of this kind, "sending a message connected with the reality of the streets of Catalunya and of the State".