The spokesperson for the PNV in the Congress of Deputies, Maribel Vaquero, has assured that the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, is "burdened by his agreements with Vox" and has called for the problem of labor absenteeism to be addressed within the framework of the social dialogue table.
In an interview on Radio Euskadi, reported by Europa Press, Vaquero alluded to the words that the leader of the PP spoke this Tuesday before the Basque Business Circle, where he described absenteeism as a "cancer," defended addressing it "with or without agreement," and lamented that a citizen "can take sick leave, not go to work without justification, and still have the same salary and the same benefits."
As indicated, Alberto Núñez Feijóo "said what he, at that moment, wanted to say" and what was seen was a president of the Popular Party "burdened by his agreements with Vox." She also highlighted that "in less than 24 hours, other spokespersons for the Popular Party have had to qualify and redirect his words."
The jeltzale deputy reiterated that in the PNV they believe "in social dialogue" and consider it "important that agreements are also reached on the issue of labor absenteeism, because, obviously, it affects competitiveness and productivity, especially for small businesses and the self-employed."
In any case, she stressed that "to commit to the competitiveness of companies and productivity, it is not only absenteeism that must be discussed," as "there are other factors, such as energy costs, fiscal measures, or the well-being of jobs and workers, that also affect productivity."
After emphasizing that at the Basque Business Circle event, "a Popular Party and a Feijóo very linked to the current pacts with Vox" were seen, Vaquero defended that the debate on labor absenteeism should be channeled through the social dialogue table, just as the PNV promoted its own interprofessional minimum wage for the Basque Country.
Social Dialogue and Productivity Table
In this regard, she reiterated that the agreements that emerge from the social dialogue table are those that should prevail, "agreements also with companies, with employers, with workers and public administrations." "They are important agreements, which have an important basis that guarantees a future for the productivity of Basque companies," she defended, insisting that "everything must go through social dialogue."
After admitting that "there is concern about company productivity and how absenteeism may affect them," he warned that "one cannot come here blaming one and another with a broad brush, with those tics of his approach with Vox."
Vaquero added that Feijóo "has a problem, he does not know Basque society, and by questioning such important issues as productivity, how company productivity is managed from Euskadi, he will not get very far in the electoral results in Euskadi."