The lack of workers is not limited only to the service sector or to the most precarious jobs such as those in the hotel industry, as denounced by the unions. The Catalan metallurgical industry, one of the most powerful sectors and with the greatest contribution to GDP, needs to immediately cover 9,000 jobs, according to Jaume Roura, president of the Unió Patronal Metal·lúrgica (UPM).
"Taking into account that there are almost 90,000 unemployed people (in the sector), we do not understand what is happening," Roura stressed at the organization's annual meeting. And it is that the industry has been characterized by higher quality employment, in terms of stability and remuneration.
After pointing out that the employers will try to give a greater boost to professional training, Roura referred to the agreements, which in the case of metal raised a bitter controversy with Pimec, who understood that the agreed salary increase was unaffordable for SMEs . It is an increase of 12% in three years, added to the salary review pending from previous years and the increases agreed for 2023 and 2024. "UPM, with its negotiations in the field of collective agreements, avoided strikes that would have made it difficult for transformation processes and they were closed despite taking into account that they already came from previous consummated processes that we have encountered since our presidency. If we had experienced these negotiations at another time, the solution would have been different, but that is what we found and we knew how to turn the situation around, ”he defended himself.
Another of the big problems that he pointed out is the delay of the Administration in the processing of licenses of all kinds. “To have a building permit or approval for an electric recharging point, we can expect an administrative response from 18 to 24 months. It is unsustainable,” he said. He added that only in Vallès "there are more than 600 million euros in stopped projects because they lack an activity license or a building permit." In this situation, he concluded, "businessmen feel unprotected."
The assembly and the subsequent session on metal were attended by Natàlia Mas, Minister of Economy, and Josep Sánchez Llibre, president of Foment del Treball, an employer's association to which the UPM is affiliated. Mas said he had taken note of the demands expressed by the employers, while Sánchez Llibre rejected the criticism of the unions for the breakdown of negotiations for a new Interprofessional Agreement of Catalonia, which should serve as a framework for collective bargaining.
On the other hand, Sánchez Llibre defended the signing of the metal agreement that avoided conflicts such as those in Cantabria and Cádiz and, according to what he said, has served as inspiration for the state pact between the CEOE and the unions. “The effort and sacrifice that was made at that time is a source of pride,” he said.
