This Wednesday we signed the Second addendum of 2025 to the sectoral agreement on the bases for the construction of a social services system specific to Catalonia, an agreement between the Government, unions, and employers' associations to improve the sector and the working conditions of professionals and ensure the sustainability of the companies that provide this service.
The agreement represents a 5% increase in the rates that the Generalitat pays companies for providing the service. But we must be critical and realistic. 5% is insufficient in the face of the challenges we face. It does not resolve the historical underfunding of the sector and does not allow for decisive progress toward the goal of equal pay. The reality is that professionals who work in private companies that provide public services and those who work directly in the public service do not have the same pay conditions. Let us remember that the residences managed directly by the Generalitat are a vast minority, seventeen in all of Catalonia, and that the remaining public places are subsidized.
At ACRA, we have promoted actions such as the manifesto. Same job, same salary to equalize salaries in the sector. We have also worked on a national pact among all stakeholders in the social sector to encourage the government and political parties to make the necessary investment in the fourth pillar of the welfare state. In this regard, we will soon hold meetings with the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government). Salary equalization is essential in a context of extremely serious professional shortages. We cannot wait any longer. Many in our country want to work in the healthcare field. That is why we have long called on the Department of Health to directly assume the healthcare of dependent persons in residential settings. This measure would allow nursing homes to focus on what they do best: ensuring social and healthcare integration and receiving healthcare from the public healthcare system. It is inexcusable that they are excluded simply because they live in a community setting. The fact that the provision of care for dependent persons is sustainable and equitable.
