Perpignan: The cross-border union space project has become a reality

The fruit of more than two years of work. On Friday, May 20 2022, in the Maison de la Région building, located next to the Perpignan station, representatives of the Pyrénées-Méditerranée Interregional Council of Trade Unions (CSIR), made up of eight Catalan and French employee organizations, officially closed the project to create a cross-border trade union space between Occitanie and Catalonia (iStock).

The operation aims to make an accurate diagnosis of the two regions in terms of employment and economy, to increase the flow of workers across borders, but also to create a network aimed at helping said employees solve the problems they face. In particular, there is a lack of knowledge of their specific rights in relation to public services (social security, etc.) or difficulties in declaring income, A member of the CSIR office, Pierre Place of Perpignan, explains. There are also more general issues related to travel and transportation. We will be putting up a website next month with contacts from fifty unions and sixteen experts on both sides of the border, in order to support these employees.

A phenomenon that is difficult to quantify

It is difficult to know precisely how many French people go to work each day in Catalonia or vice versa. However, CSIR estimates that this phenomenon will currently concern about 3,000 people between Occitanie and Catalonia, including more than 80% of Catalans working on the French side, mainly in the logistics, health or transport sectors. Agriculture, even the Pyrenees – Orientals are worried.

The diagnosis made within the framework of the Estoc project also made it possible to confirm the extent of the population exchange between Catalonia and Occitanie. Of the 80,000 French people residing in Spain, 38,000 live in Catalonia. Funded by 67% of European funds from the Poctefa Regional Cooperation Programme, the Estoc project represents an investment of 175,000 euros.