If everything takes place as expected, Paloma López, (Madrid, 63 years old) will be re -elected as General Secretary of Workers Commissions of Madrid for the in a congress that begins this Monday. In soft ways and good ways, López has the challenge that CC OO and has its own voice in a context of great polarization. Its main success has been to arrive with a unit candidacy that frightens the ghost of the confrontation between families. This Monday the Madrid left, from Óscar López (PSOE) to Manuela Bergerot (more Madrid), will be at the headquarters of Lope de Vega to bless from this one that has been in trade unionism for almost 40 years, has been Eurodiputed and now leads one that Real Madrid, almost 150,000 affiliates.
Ask. What do you feel when they call it ‘comegambas‘?
Answer. It is part of a campaign and we are accustomed. Unions love us alone, they want us isolated and they love us sad. But this union is the opposite. We are organized and defend the collective. In addition, we do it with joy. To the right it is bothers that we are the dike that prevents its reactionary policies in the economic and social. This union is there preventing it from being carried out.
P. What is a union for?
R. We have almost 17,000 delegates that work every day in their labor areas. And there they fix or respond to concrete problems: they are not paying my payroll well or they are not respecting the teleworking or conciliation. That is the usefulness of the union. We have almost 19,000 open labor files and in the cases that come to trial, we won 80%. That gives us a guarantee of quality and solidity and is one of the reasons that we are growing in the number of affiliations.
P. What is the relationship with Ayuso?
R. None. We have tried, but it has been impossible. The president should be aware that among her many obligations is also attending to workers and their representative organizations. Then we can not reach an agreement, but at least establish a framework of relations where they can discuss policies that are appropriate for citizenship. Even the president would realize that the alternatives we present are sensible and balanced proposals. We are not mindless or crazy and we have demonstrated it for a long time.
P. Was this level of disconnection always like that?
R. No, not always. With Cristina Cifuentes there was a good framework of relations and even with Esperanza Aguirre there was, but with the current president it does not exist. But well, it’s what there is.
P. Does the current left have any possibility in front of Ayuso?
R. The most important thing to achieve a political change is the unity of the parties to the left of the PSOE (more Madrid and Unidos Podemos). From this union we call to join.
P. One of his recent studies emphasizes that inequality increases more than poverty
R. The Community of Madrid only bets on investments in the northern and northwest of the community. And the entire southern part is absolutely abandoned. We talked about Alcalá de Henares, Getafe, Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Parla … and that difference is also perceived in the city of Madrid. The inequality is palpable and the data is there. Life expectancy in Parla is two years less than in Pozuelo. If we take the jobs to Pozuelo, it implies two hours of displacement and a worse salary. To that we must add a South devoid of medical centers, schools or professional training centers. There is an abandonment that has an impact on the quality of life.
P. Are the unions being hard with ayuso and submissive with the central government?
R. If the Government of the Community of Madrid was not an absolutely ultraliberal and reactionary, we would be talking about another context. We do not always agree with all the policies that are made in the state, but in Madrid it happens that we are a very annoying actor because we remind them of what he does.
P. Have unions lost strength in the street?
R. The ‘green tide’, for public education or ‘white’ for health, are very activated. In this period we have had countless mobilizations: against the Bus Law, the Public University or Housing. Or recently the agreement with the City Council for the theme Las Gass. We are in thousands of conflicts by solving people’s lives day by day and that is the usefulness of the union.
P. And in companies?
R. We are the majority union and we represent 40% of workers in the Community of Madrid. That validates us and that is our strength.
P. Precisely on the recent garbage agreement, did the workers leave them in evidence by rejecting an agreement that the domes had accepted?
R. It is an exercise in internal democracy. Each agreement is later voted by the workers and with that logic we work
P. How to seduce young people with a union and do not think it is something ‘old’?
R. We have various policies for younger groups.
P. Give me an example
R. There are many young people who when they enter the labor market do not know how to read their payroll. What do we do? Courses and talks in the neighborhoods, in the institutes or in the universities to be able to explain what IRPF retention, retention by training or the unemployment part. We have many young affiliates between 25 and 30 years old. They have increased linked to food or VTC platforms.
P. How does a union like yours face the challenge that the arrival of artificial intelligence supposes for the labor market?
R. Artificial intelligence is not something ethereal, it is directed and governed by people. We must turn to the training and we cannot make the workers stay out. Qualification and adaptation is important. We know that with the entry of artificial intelligence, jobs will be lost, but others will also be created and we must have a productive model that adapts to these new realities. The main challenge is to work within companies so that there are training and people are aware of what it is.
P. Are the two main unions in Madrid directed by women, what does this contribute?
R. They are a little rigid and us, there we contribute more flexibility and freshness and a way of approaching processes from the skin, from the human and hope. Women know about the importance of mutual support and the value of solidarity. We know how to build spaces for the meeting.
