UGT and CCOO will place access to housing and the fight against the far-right at the center of the May 1st demonstration in Girona. Both unions have presented this Tuesday at a joint press conference their main demands for the mobilization in the demarcation, also marked by the defense of the regularization of immigrants and the request for more resources to speed up administrative procedures.
The general secretaries in the Girona regions, Maxi Rica for UGT and Diana Estudillo Sánchez for CCOO, have emphasized that Girona has a particularly tense reality regarding housing. They have warned of the high presence of tourist apartments, especially in coastal areas, and have underlined that they represent 43% of the total in Catalonia. Faced with this situation, both organizations demand public policies and concrete measures to guarantee that the entire population has access to a roof.
Housing, main focus of the protest in Girona
The unions have denounced the growing difficulties in accessing a rental in the demarcation. In this context, they have lashed out at Junts for having opposed the decree approved by the Government that extended for two years the rental contracts that expire before December 31, 2027, and limited the maximum increase in renewal to 2%.
"When a specific party overturns a decree that prevented someone from sending you a registered letter tomorrow saying they are increasing your rent cost by 25% or 30%, it causes the salary increases that can be achieved not to go to the workers, but to the landlords" - Maxi Rica, UGT
Estudillo Sánchez has also shown his concern about the eviction process of the people living in the old Simon factory in Girona. He has asked the administration to provide a solution for these people, whom he has defined as vulnerable.
Criticism of the advance of ultra discourse
The other great demand of May 1st will be the union's response to the far-right. Rica has directly pointed to Aliança Catalana, which she has defined as "the Girona reflection of this far-right". In her speech, she accused this political space of targeting the population based on skin color or religion.
"These people are dedicated to giving out cards of good or bad Catalan, especially based on skin color or the religion you practice" - Maxi Rica, UGT
The union leader has also criticized Sílvia Orriols' economic approach, which he said responds to one of the most liberal visions possible. He added that this discourse also segregates according to economic capacity and seeks to dismantle the public sector. From there, he insisted that the far-right does not put forward proposals in favor of workers.
For their part, Estudillo Sánchez has lamented that parties that traditionally had not been in that space are buying into their narrative. He has admitted that it is a matter that greatly concerns the two organizations.
Regularization of immigrants and lack of resources
UGT and CCOO will also demand in the march the regularization process for immigrants initiated a few days ago, which they consider a tool for normalization. They maintain that these are people who have been living and working here for some time, and that this process must allow them to contribute and prevent their labor exploitation.
The unions have requested more resources to speed up procedures in the demarcation offices and avoid queues, especially in municipalities like Salt. Rica has warned that a process of this type requires guaranteeing the necessary means from the outset.
Both organizations have highlighted the coordination between entities and unions to accompany this regularization. With that message, and with housing and rejection of the ultra discourse as central axes, the May 1 mobilization in Girona will seek to take to the streets a social discontent that unions consider increasingly widespread in the Girona regions.