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  • Coronavirus. Entrepreneurs accuse Pablo Iglesias of manipulating with the minimum vital income and break social dialogue

Eight ministers, including vice-presidents Calviño and Ribera , took part yesterday in the social dialogue table to which CEOE returned after accusing the government and, specifically, Pablo Iglesias of "interested manipulation" and "disloyalty".

It was almost a Council of Ministers with which the Executive tried to redirect and recover relations after the harsh statement that the employers published on Holy Thursday, denying that Vice President Iglesias had tried to create the bridge vital income or received the approval of the President. of the employer, Antonio Garamendi. The employers also decided not to attend the meeting that the Minister of Labor had called for the following day.

In this difficult context, and with the urgency of advancing social agreements, the Government carried out a staging in which, in addition to the aforementioned Calviño and Ribera and Minister Díaz, the Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos; the head of the Treasury and government spokesperson, María Jesús Montero; the Minister of Social Security, José Luis Escrivá; the Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto; and that of Agriculture and Fisheries, Luis Planas. All from the socialist wing, except for the person in charge of Labor, and of course without the presence of Churches, despite the fact that the minimum income was discussed at the meeting .

In fact, it was one of the main petitions of the unions, which conveyed to the Government that this issue should be resolved "either through a minimum vital income or through an emergency benefit, but that people have as soon as possible a benefit to be able to have the basic needs covered in the coming days ». " We have asked to participate in this negotiation to start this service as soon as possible, " said Unai Sordo, CCOO general secretary, after the meeting. UGT also pressed in that same direction and the Minister Escrivá himself acknowledged yesterday that the Government wants to have the measure ready in "the next few weeks", so that the negotiation with the employers seems urgent and fundamental.

ERTE and return to activity

The meeting also addressed the situation of the Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE), in addition to their possible expansion beyond the state of alarm. On this last point, both unions and employers share a position, since they understand that it is a way of guaranteeing employment. " They are helping to save hundreds of thousands of jobs, but that when the state of alarm ends, they must continue to do so, " CCOO defended yesterday.

And to all this was added the possible return to work of those non-essential activities, which the Government calls "de-escalation." There are many doubts in this process, since the Executive does not just clarify how it wants to carry out the process and from the opposition it has been pointed out that, in reality, it does not know how to do it.

This process is key for the economy, since the longer the period of confinement is extended, the more complicated the return to normality will be and the more the economic blow will be accused. The OECD estimates that each month of confinement involves a two-point contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to which must be added what it will cost the economy to pick up speed again. For this reason, the Executive itself and national and international organizations always stress that the economic impact of the coronavirus will depend on how long the break is extended. But, in any case, what already seems impossible to avoid is that the contraction exceeds widely 5% and unemployment soars .

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