Confebask questions ELA's contribution to the country, and Lakuntza replies that it gets "the most and the best agreements."
Confebask and the ELA union have had a public debate this Thursday following harsh criticism from employers "president Tamara Yagüe at an event in Bilbao.
Yagüe has questioned ELA's union work and said the union uses it as "the only way to fight , to the detriment of dialogue and negotiation. "
In addition, Confebask has stated that he will defend himself in court for the complaint lodged by the ELA and LAB unions against employers for not negotiating a minimum wage for the Basque Autonomous Community.
In response, ELA's Secretary General, Mitxel Lakuntza, has replied that it is his union that achieves "the most and best agreements" and has accused the business organization of maintaining a "retrograde" and "authoritarian" attitude.
In a statement, he warned that the fight and the proclamation of his own minimum wage "has come to stay" and added that Confebask, like the Basque Government, is wrong if he believes that such an important issue can be ignored.
Lakuntza has stated that the Basque employers "are aware of the contribution that the ELA union makes to society. All it has to do is look into the causes of its anger to find an answer," he said.
He has argued that ELA is "the union that achievesthe largest and best agreements (250 on average each year) and higher wage increases than those of the other unions (for example, in 2023, the average wage increase in the agreements signed by ELA was 5.76%, while in the agreements not signed by ELA it was 4.17%) ".
The trade union leader has defended the union's work against the "closure" of employers and accused it of "refusing to raise wages and in particular to negotiate the minimum wage".
Lakuntza has recalled that it gives "legitimacy" to ELA to be the first Basque union, with more than 40% representation in the ACV and 104,000 members, "to organize thousands of workers in workplaces every day, to overcome the blockade of employers through strikes and to achieve achievements and agreements that are otherwise not possible."
You might like
Volkswagen will cut 50,000 more jobs, half in Germany and the rest in Europe
The Volkswagen group is in crisis due to strong competition from Chinese manufacturers in Europe, declining sales in China and tariffs in the United States.
France announces aid to farmers affected by drought
Farmers' representatives will meet next week with the French Ministry of Agriculture to convey their demands. The effects of drought and heat are being felt economically, but also physically and mentally.
A worker died in an accident at a winery in Lanciego
The incident took place around 12:20 p.m. and the circumstances of the incident are being investigated. Emergency services have been moved to the scene, but the operator's life has not been saved.
A new tax on fast and cheap clothing is introduced in France
Asian giants like Shein or Temu will now have to pay penalty rates of between 50 cents and 12 euros per garment.
The diesel discount goes up to 20 cents per litre, and the gasoline discount goes down to 5 cents
The tax rebate on diesel has doubled since today, while petrol has halved.
The Basque Government will meet again this Tuesday with farmers to assess the impact of the drought
Agricultural associations and trade unions, among others, want the ACV to be declared a drought zone and special measures to be taken. The meeting will take place at 4 p.m. at the headquarters of the Basque Government in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Trade unions and employers sign the first agreement on nursing homes in Navarre
After more than five years of negotiations, trade unions and employers have signed the agreement today, which will involve more than 5,000 workers.
The electricity bill has risen 19% in August, reaching its highest level since 2022
Rising demand in heat waves and rising natural gas prices will make an average user's receipt about EUR 14 more expensive.
The 20 cent diesel rebate will come into effect on Tuesday
The measure, which has so far been reduced by 10 cents per litre, aims to combat fuel prices by 15.7% in July.
The September hill this year will be one of the hardest in years
With the return to work, the families of the Basque Country face another reality, which is that this year's September hill will be one of the hardest in recent years, as evidenced by inflation at 4.3%, a figure not seen since February 2023.