The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has obtained this Tuesday the commitment of the Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, to understand the Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE) in the Islands derived from the coronavirus crisis for "as long as necessary."
"This is the most important news of today", Torres asserted in statements to the media after the meeting with the minister, that "the ERTEs are going to be extended" and "for as long as necessary" or "at least as long as necessary."
That is the position that the minister would have conveyed to the Canarian president and that she will defend on September 4 at the tripartite social table between the Government, unions and employers.
Regarding the extension of these ERTEs, the president said that Díaz is clear that "if it is three, three; if it is six, six and if it is eight, eight" months of extension and that the situation will be reversed "when the economy in the Canary Islands improves."
For Torres, the figure of the ERTEs can only be left behind if there are "circumstances of normalized activity" in the Canary Islands. But, for the moment, he considered it "key" that "it be maintained over time."
The Canarian president said that the Archipelago is facing "key months of the winter season" and that, therefore, we must bet on maintaining the ERTEs "for as long as necessary."
Workers in ERTE would maintain 70% of their salary
In addition, Torres said that the minister also agrees that workers who have been in ERTE for more than 180 days cannot go from 70 percent of their salary to 50 percent, because "we cannot make workers the sacrificed ones." For all this, he hopes for an agreement as soon as possible that can be crystallized on the 4th or the following week.
Finally, President Torres asked for the effort of "everyone" to move forward in these complex moments: "We all need each other and, therefore, I ask the representatives of employers and unions for this [...], let's all lend a hand. I appeal to the responsibility of pulling together and separating differences," defended the head of the regional Executive, also appealing to that understanding after the statements this Monday by the regional tourism employers' associations in the Tourism Commission of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, where they spoke of a tourism "in the ICU."
