CCOO-A and UGT-A unions have assessed the Population Survey (EPA) data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) on Thursday, which shows that there were 19,100 fewer unemployed people in Andalusia in the first quarter of the year. The unions attribute this to the labour reform, while demanding "wage increases.”

The Secretary of Employment and New Labour Realities of the CCOO, Sergio Santos, emphasized the importance of "continuing to bet on indefinite hiring" as "it produces quality jobs, stability, and rights," adding that it is also essential for employers to fulfill a "first-level social objective" and distribute profits in "improved working conditions and salary increases." Santos appealed to the Andalusian government to "implement the urgent measures agreed upon in the social and economic pact to bring Andalusia forward.”

Finally, Santos called on workers to "take to the streets on May 1 to demand higher salaries, price containment, and stable jobs with rights and guarantees for the future."

For its part, UGT-A said that after learning of the EPA survey, it has a "bittersweet feeling," but credited the decrease in unemployment and the increase in the active population to the labour reform. The Head of Employment of the UGT Andalusia, Rafael Gelo, identified that "the increase and development of labour rights are the path to follow in employment policies...we will demand the modernization of these policies through greater training and employability."

Gelo emphasized that the focus on increasing salaries "must be the main demand of our unions and the central axis on which to develop collective bargaining," as it is essential that "our remuneration increases in percentages commensurate with the current level of inflation, which, although moderating, is still tremendously high." He called on the Andalusian working class to "join the next May 1 mobilizations and demand salary increases, price reductions, and profit sharing."