On November 16 and 17 there will be no day of the First Iberdrola. And the following weekends, surely neither. The soccer players, tired of the defenseless situation caused by the absence of a collective agreement that protects their rights, have said enough and will go on strike indefinitely. A decision advanced already last week in a massive union assembly that was reinforced after the failure of the mediation of the Interconfederal Mediation and Arbitration Service (SIMA), a mere procedure before starting the process for the formal call for unemployment.

As always happens in this type of situation, workers (football players) and employers (clubs) blame each other for a situation that has been more than a year in a row without a close agreement. Although there are more aspects under discussion, the main one lies in the minimum salary that Primera's footballers should receive. The unions (AFE, Futbolistas ON and UGT) claim 16,000 euros gross per year, with a partiality of 75%. In other words, the lowest paid soccer player of Primera would earn about 1,000 gross euros per month. It may seem little, but today there are some that charge around 300 euros.

«It is unfeasible, a League of no more than 10 teams would remain», defends Rubén Alcaine, president of the Association of Women's Soccer Clubs (ACFF), which includes 13 First teams, all except Barcelona, ​​Athletic and Heel, the club that next season will become Real Madrid. The last proposal of the clubs by 33% lower than the demands of the employers: 16,000 euros per year at 50% bias. That is, about 666 euros per month.

Both parties have held 18 meetings in the last 13 months without getting close enough. At this point, the players consider that 75% bias is "a red line", while the employer believes that exceeding 50% would mean that some clubs had to give up competing in First. The agreement, apart from the minimum wage, must include other issues such as the regulation of leave, maternity benefits, vacations and the employment status of the players of the subsidiary participating in the first team.

Different realities

The reality of Spanish women's football is very variable today. There are clubs like Barcelona, ​​Atlético or Athletic that meet the demands of the footballers. Others, however, are hardly professionalized, especially those who do not have the financial support of a male club behind. Between them, a whole range of grays and the employer's argument that economic income does not allow reaching the amounts demanded by footballers ... for this season.

Because even if the situation unravels in the coming weeks, the problem would be far from solved. The demand of 75% of the players' day is an intermediate step for them. «We are soccer players 24 hours a day. Our intention is to reach an agreement with that 75% and sign next year with 100% », made clear last week Ainhoa ​​Tirapu , captain of Athletic, former goalkeeper of the selection and spokeswoman for the players after the meeting in the that the strike proposal was voted, backed by 93% of the 189 players present in it.

The strike will only affect the League matches, so the players will continue to train normally, waiting for once and for all to have a collective agreement that will give them security and do justice with their work.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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