Art brings fashion to the House

Fashion reaches the front lines of politics. The Spanish Textile Retail Association (Arte), which represents the large distribution groups in the sector, will present the study on May 20 in the Chamber of Deputies. Contribution of textile retail to the Spanish economy.

The study will be presented by the association's president, Ana Lopez-Caseiro Beltran (He has been in office since last September), with the aim of showing the importance of the textile industry to the country at the heart of Spanish politics. Arte, founded by Inditex at the end of 2022, currently includes the main operators in the sector.

The association includes sixteen companies with forty brands: All We Wear Group, Bimba y Lola, Encuentro, H&M, Hugo Boss, Iberian Sports Retail Group, Inditex, Kiabi, Mango, Mayoral, Parfois, Pepco, Primark, Punt Roma, Tendam and Uniqlo. This is the first national agreement for the textile sector, which will reach at least 66 large companies in the sector and a total of 110,000 workers.

The art studio will be showcased in Congress by the president of the association, Ana Lopez-Caseiro Beltran

In order to implement the agreement, Arte is in contact with the main unions. The negotiating table was formed last July, and the CCOO won the majority, obtaining eight seats out of fifteen. The UGT, for its part, has five representatives at the table, with one member from the CIG and one from the ELA.

After being excluded from the negotiating table, Vitiko filed a class action lawsuit with the National Court to protect freedom of association. Finally, the dispute was resolved before reaching trial and in October Vitiko was listed on the docket.

Once the table was set, the unions and the association met to determine the terms of the agreement, although there are no clear decisions yet regarding the workers’ conditions. For example, the CCOO requires that the working day be 37.5 hours per week and that the minimum salary be no less than €20,000 depending on seniority, a decision that has not been approved by Arte.

The agreement will apply to sector chains (including textiles, shoes, clothing, other accessory items and household products) that meet two of the following conditions: The total physical sales area must be at least 3,500 square meters at the national level. Large-scale, physical stores in at least three independent communities or more than 400 employees.