The Government of Aragonhas regretted the statement attributed to the Trade Union Organization of Workers of Aragón (OSTA), known through the media, in which representatives of the union propose to «harden the conflict» and boycott acts of the two parties that make up the regional executive.
The Aragonese Executive rejects that the legitimate right of the forestry brigades to raise their labour demands is used to «feed and foment political confrontation». The government considers the situation «unusual» and accuses the union of neglecting the defence of workers to work together with, in its terms, «the opposition», even going so far as to raise the harassment of the headquarters of the parties that are part of the Executive and that were democratically elected.
THE DGA RECALLS THAT THERE ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATIONS
The Government of Aragon assures that since the beginning of the legislature it has maintained its willingness to listen and improve the conditions of the forestry brigades. In this regard, it points out that it held meetings since the first request of the SARGA Inter-Centre Committee, already in the first week of August, and that the company has shown at all times its willingness to analyse the demands raised.
The Department of Environment and Tourism does not understand, therefore, OSTA refusal to allow the analysis and, where appropriate, the review of the working conditions of the SARGA forestry brigades to be addressed by «the parties involved», the company and the workers’ representatives, within the established channels.
The Executive defends that this process must have the necessary time to study the proposals and determine their labor, technical, legal, organizational and budgetary viability, as established in the current labor agreement.
THE GOVERNMENT DEFENDS THE IMPROVEMENTS IN TWILL
The Government of Aragon recalls that its willingness to dialogue was also reflected in the granting of the II Collective Agreement of SARGA, signed between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, which incorporated improvements for the workers of the operation. In addition, the regional executive adopted the decision to hire the forestry brigades during the twelve months of the year, improving the previous situation of all the workers.
While this process continues, the Department of Environment and Tourism is working on new technical measures to improve operations and especially strengthen prevention and forest management throughout the year.
To this end, the Department is analysing the large fires of this summer, the requirements and the operation of the extinguishing operation as a whole. The aim is to introduce technical and organisational improvements and, at the same time, with the aim of advancing an active and effective forestry policy, based on a more rational and orderly management of the forest, greater prevention, anticipation and common sense, and greater capacity to protect the rural environment.
THE EXECUTIVE ASKS TO MOVE THE CONFLICT AWAY FROM THE POLITICAL CONFRONTATION
The Government considers that the OSTA communiqué places the conflict in a «different and alien» terrain, such as that of political confrontation. In his opinion, the proposals directed against the parliamentary groups that support the Executive use labor demands as an instrument of partisan attrition and pervert their legitimacy.
After a particularly hard summer, in which Aragon has faced some of the most serious fires in its recent history and has suffered terrible deaths, the Government considers it essential to act with responsibility, institutional respect and a broad and strategic vision of the needs of the mountains and the protection of the rural environment and life in it.
