UGT and CCOO demand the reduction of working hours

UGT and CCOO mobilize in front of the headquarters of the Alicante employers' association to demand that they negotiate the reduction of working hours "without duplicity and with loyalty". Representatives of both unions have entered the employers' association to hold a meeting with the leaders and convey to them "the urgency and necessity of reducing working hours without a salary cut", warning that they will not stop the pressure on the streets until they achieve their goal.

More than 250 union delegates have demonstrated shouting "worker if you don't fight, no one listens to you" and "unpaid hour, stolen hour", denouncing "the blocking attitude of negotiation by the employers", whom they label as "timid, short-termist and uninterested in the fight to end the underground economy, endless working hours, lack of Social Security contributions or abuse of overtime that provide a good number of employees with significant undeclared benefits for which they do not contribute or pay taxes".

The unions describe the situation in Alicante as "especially urgent", pointing to sectors such as hospitality, agriculture or construction, and blaming the difficulty in reducing poverty on real estate speculation, gentrification and business price abuse "that drive up inflation" and public policies "that protect and subsidize companies".

Alicante is the province of the Valencian Community with the highest Arope rate, that is, with the highest percentage of population at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion, with 29.1 percent.

CCOO and UGT argue that "reducing working hours without loss of salary is a necessity in the fight against poverty, in combating unemployment, facilitating generational change and improving people's mental and physical health".