Worker cooperatives bring relief to unemployment in Gipuzkoa

Joblessness in the Basque Country is at a record high, but unemployment varies depending on the province, with Gipuzkoa registering the lowest rate with 12.5  percent, a figure comparable to that of the European Union.

According to Spain´s National Statistics Institute, the total number of people out of work in the Basque Country in 2012 was 162,800 people, or 15.92 percent.

The Basque Country is second to Castilla-La Mancha in shedding jobs. Less jobs means less contributions to the pension system and less tax collection.

But some Basque provinces have done better than others depending on their economic fabric. Unemployment in Alava is 18 percent and in Bizkay 17 percent. In Navarre, unemployment is also 17 percent.

According to Sara de la Rica, economics profesor at the Basque Country University, the reason why Gipuzkoa is today Spain´s richest province in terms of income and employment is due to Gipuzkoa´s worker cooperatives´model.

"Because cooperatives are self-managed by workers they have been able to accept flexibility measures, and from 2009 and 2010 they have frozen wages and even lowered wages. This has meant that the unemployment hemorrhage in Gipuzkoa has been lower," she said.

Industry is the sector which has lost the most jobs, which explains the reverse situation in Bizkay, a higly industrialised province.

"The industry sector lost 9,400 jobs, while the service industry lost 7,600 jobs, when 70 percent of our employed workers belong to the service industry. In terms of jobs, the industry sector is the sector which is shedding more jobs.

If 2012 has been a bad year, 2013 will not be any brighter. Experts say labour flexibility and more competitive wages, along with more credit to small and medium-sized businesses is the only guarantee against higher unemployment.