The left in Congress is pressuring Sánchez to pardon the La Suiza union members.

MadridThe Spanish government's left-wing allies are making their move in the case known as "The Swiss Six." This Wednesday, ERC, Podemos, EH-Bildu, and the BNG (National Liberation Front) presented a non-legislative motion in the Congress of Deputies requesting that Pedro Sánchez's administration grant a pardon to the six Asturian trade unionists who voluntarily entered prison a week ago after the defense judge and the Prosecutor's Office suspended their sentences.

The case dates back to 2017. The six convicted trade unionists, members of the CNT (National Liberation Front), participated in protests outside a bakery in Xixón, La Suiza, after supporting a former employee who reported workplace and sexual harassment by the owner. These demonstrations, according to the Supreme Court judge, amounted to "boycott and pressure" on the owner, who ended up closing the bakery.

The non-legislative motion these parties have filed with Congress emphasizes that there was no violence or damage during the protests. They also denounce the disproportionate use of the Penal Code against union action. The parties note that both the Prosecutor's Office and the Asturian government have expressed their support for the pardon, emphasizing the "exemplary conduct of the convicted women and the suffering resulting from a judicial process that lasted more than eight years." In fact, the Minister of Labor herself, Yolanda Díaz, has defended the pardon..

For these groups, this case represents "a serious setback in terms of trade union freedoms and labor rights." Through this initiative, they urge Pedro Sánchez's government to "act urgently" to redress what they consider "an injustice, preventing six people from continuing to be imprisoned for exercising rights recognized by Spanish and international law."

Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court upheld the individual sentences of two years in prison for obstruction of justice and an additional year and a half for coercion, in addition to the payment of €150,000 in compensation to the owner of the La Suiza bakery.