Junqueras assures that ERC will not support the labor reform if the Government does not make "substantial changes"

The leader of the ERC, Oriol Junqueras, attends the media before the Ciutat de la Justicia, in Barcelona, ​​last November. Toni Albir (EFE)

The president of the ERC, Oriol Junqueras, has assured that his formation will not support the labor reform agreed between employers and unions if the Government does not make "substantial changes". “They believe that processing salaries are not a priority. That reinforcing labor inspections is not a priority. That combating bias in employment contracts is not a priority. If they don't change that, we won't vote in favor of labor reform. If these things do not improve, there will be no support from the ERC”, he advanced on Monday night in an interview on Onda Cero. Junqueras was especially critical of the PSOE, the majority shareholder of the central government, which these days is trying to gather support to validate the reform in Congress before February 7.The leader of Esquerra also defended his party's commitment to the dialogue table on Catalonia and a "negotiation model" with the State.

Junqueras' words show that ERC remains unmoved in its claims and in its intention, for now, to vote against the social pact. “It is evident that we have different priorities - PSOE and Esquerra - and that we are not alike (...) If they do not modify these types of issues, we will vote no on the labor reform. The answer is no, because we believe that it does not reform anything, that it leaves things as they are. I'm sure there will be some relevant change, but I think the issues I just raised are very important," he added. The decree of the labor reform needs more affirmative votes than negative to prosper, and for now it only adds the 154 that PSOE and United We Can have. The PSOE has opened to negotiate with more parties before the traffic jam with ERC, PNV and Bildu.The employers helped the Government on Monday and asked Cs to vote for the agreement. The speech of the Executive, with greater emphasis on the socialist part, is that Congress must respect what was agreed by the social agents.

During the interview, Junqueras downplayed the differences in approach between the central government and the Generalitat regarding the objectives of the dialogue table. "If we agreed, it would not be a negotiating table," he said. "I believe that the relevant issues are resolved through negotiations because I am convinced that no politically complex issue is resolved unilaterally and requires elements of multilateralism," he asserted.

Regarding the controversy surrounding the replacements in the leadership of the Mossos, including the head of anti-corruption investigation, Junqueras rejected that it is a purge of the Department of the Interior.

“What interest can ERC have in covering up corruption when we are the only party that can say that in its 90-year history it has not had a single case of corruption?

We have nothing to hide," he added.