Almost ten years have passed since the entry into force of article 12 of Organic Law 2/2012, of April 27, on Budgetary Stability and Financial Sustainability, which is known as “the birth of the spending rule in public administrations”, a rule that meant, among other tragic issues for public employees of the Canary Islands, the reduction of their salaries, the increase in their weekly working hours, being “punished” in case of suffering a temporary disability (sick leave) by reducing part of their salary, or seeing any professional aspiration paralyzed (horizontal and vertical mobility). In these ten years, the growth of the Independent Trade Union and Civil Servants Central (CSIF) has been the most spectacular of all the unions, both among the classic unions and among the more opportunistic unions that have grown in recent times thanks to playing with the illusions of many employees, their greatest union weapon.
CSIF's growth revolves around professionalism, rigor, serenity, common sense and independence in its legal services, a true bastion of public employees in general and workers in particular.
In these last ten years, ignoring the small outbreaks that occurred after 2018 with the beginning of a recovery of “stolen rights”, a restoration that was suspended after the entry into force of Royal Decree 463/2020, of March 14, which declares the state of alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, have been years of true growth for CSIF in the Canary Islands. Its growth stems from the commitment it has to all employees (without distinguishing professional groups or categories and even their affinity to one union or another). In this same sense, the union arises for the best defense of the interests of workers, and this means enjoying the best legal team, hence CSIF's commitment to having the best professionals in matters of public function in the Canary Islands.
In the words of the regional president of CSIF in the Canary Islands, César Martínez Araque, “from CSIF we have carried out in recent years a clear policy of commitment to our legal services, becoming one of the most powerful in the Canary Islands, being, in addition, the only union that has lawyers who advise directly at the general negotiation tables, expert professionals in a matter as specific as that pertaining to the civil servant and labor personnel of the Public Function of our autonomous community and local entities”. Martínez Araque adds the line that his union will continue in the coming months, stating that “we know that the coming years will be truly hard for all public employees, especially for a high percentage who have doubts about the stability of their positions, doubts that many try to use as a tool for union growth and that do a disservice to the affected personnel”.
The regional president insists that, “the growth of the union has meant a greater demand on the work of our legal services, forced in their day to day to achieve exquisiteness in their work that, surely, is not demanded of others, but that, once again, make CSIF a union truly committed to public employees, a fact that all our thousands of affiliates can corroborate”.
Finally, from CSIF it is very clear that the line drawn is the correct one, placing more effort and confidence, if possible, in the criteria of its legal services, understanding by independent unionism as a movement that is born faithful to the founding principles as a “social movement” and that, even if it lasts over time, that feeling, fortunately, must evolve towards the red lines marked by our multitude of legal norms. Lines that our legal services know, a true reference within the unionism of the Canary Islands.
Jesús Manuel Díaz Lorente. CSIF Delegate