POST-PANDEMIC. Employers and unions together, to recover the footwear sector
In mid-June, a meeting was held between FICE, the Federation of the Footwear Industry of Spain, and the CCOO and UGT unions to analyze the depth of the damage caused to the sector by the pandemic. During the meeting, the effects in the activity that the period of confinement has had in the main international markets and the situation that is experienced in these days of slow flexibilization were detailed.
Both representations showed their willingness to form a common block to tackle the economic, labor and social problems that are being faced by companies in the footwear sector, their workers and their main productive areas, as a consequence of the paralysis caused by the pandemic, and with the common goal that the recovery of work activity is as fast as possible and is carried out with the least loss of companies and jobs.
The sales of the Spanish footwear companies have been suddenly paralyzed by the situation generated by COVID-19 and the closure of shops worldwide, which already directly affects the summer and winter 2020 campaigns and will affect the summer 2021 campaign. As is known, the most important destinations for Spanish footwear are the European markets (France, Italy, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom) and the North American markets (USA, Mexico and Canada).
In addition, the cancellation of international fairs events and collections presentation for next winter and summer 2021 negatively conditions the entry of work into factories for the coming months. For this reason, the sector employers and unions demand support for the sector in the labor sphere, such as the extension of ERTES (temporary suspension due to force majeure) until at least the end of the year. More aid is also needed for international promotion and innovation in the areas of production, marketing and sales.
The three organizations participating in the meeting committed to future meetings to continue assessing the situation and the measures that should be implemented.
The Spanish footwear industry comprises a sector that groups 3,559 companies with an employment level of 29,034 workers concentrated in the Autonomous Communities of: Valencian Community, Castilla La Mancha, La Rioja, Region of Murcia, Balearic Islands, Aragon and Andalusia.
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