The serious water crisis that affects Catalonia despite the recent rains is beginning to have a certain employment impact, although at the moment very limited. During 2024, the Generalitat has approved six Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE) linked to the drought, as confirmed by the Department of Business and Labor. Four of them are included in the ERTE category due to force majeure, the same case that the cava giant Freixenet has requested.
The Sant Sadurní d'Anoia company has proposed a temporary file for up to 615 workers starting in May due to the drought. The drop in grape production in the Cava DO due to lack of water, of up to 40%, has led the leading group in the sector to launch this measure. The request, in any case, is still pending evaluation and approval by Empresa i Treball. The CC.OO union. majority in the company, has already demanded the withdrawal of the file and to negotiate to find alternative solutions that preserve employment.
Workers' representatives fear that a precedent will be created and other large firms, both in the cava sector and in other branches of activity, will follow similar measures, with the consequent impact on employment. Codorníu, another of the main cava groups, however, rules out applying temporary file mechanisms. “No measures of this impact are foreseen in Raventós Codorníu,” company sources said.
The six ERTE due to drought approved to date in Catalonia affect only 27 people, 24 of them due to reduction in working hours and 3 due to their contract pension. Most of these belong to the agri-food sector.
It is, therefore, a small impact, although it could be increased if the Government finally approves the Freixenet ERTE. Nothing to do with the situation experienced during the Covid pandemic, when ERTEs became a common resource for the survival of many companies, especially in the transport and tourism sector.
Of all areas of activity, agriculture is the one that suffers the most from the lack of water. Irrigation is restricted in much of Catalonia which, together with the lack of sufficient rain, has reduced cereal and olive harvests, among other products, with the consequent increase in prices - olive oil has reached historic prices. both in the supermarket and at origin.
The drought, together with inflation, has also slowed down food production in Spain, with a drop of 2.6% in 2023, the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries warned this Tuesday.
