The footwear sector was surprised not to be included among the sectors that can access the extraordinary measures to support business solvency in response to the Covid pandemic established in Royal Decree Law 5/2021 . Therefore, it demands that this inexplicable situation be corrected, as expressed in the statement that we reproduce below.
“From the early hours of Saturday, FICE has mobilized all its capacities to correct this situation through the contacts and relationships it maintains with public administrations, from the local to the national level.
It is unacceptable that a sector that employs more than 37,000 people, with more than 43% female employment, and after having lost more than 19,000 jobs due to the pandemic , is excluded from access to these measures that seek to preserve the fabric productive and employment.
Our request is conclusive: footwear should be included as a susceptible recipient of these extraordinary measuresDue to the delicate situation it faces, it leads the falls in industrial sectors with a 28.2% decrease in the Industrial Production Index (IPI) in 2020, the highest in the historical series of footwear and higher than that of other industrial sectors they can access the support lines. To these figures, other equally worrying ones are added: the Turnover Index (ICN) of the leather and footwear industry fell by 23.6%; 7,291 people lost their jobs, representing a 16.8% decrease in employment. In addition, exports fell back to 2013 figures with a fall of 15.7%. All these data reflect that the footwear sector is one of “the most affected sectors” referred to in Royal Decree-Law 5/2021.
We understand that the Spanish footwear manufacturing industry (CNAE 1520) and wholesale distribution (CNAE 4642) should be included in the aid, as well as its retail trade. From FICE we consider that the entire value chain of the sector must be equally supported by these measures so necessary and vital for the maintenance of economic activity and employment.
This is an injustice for the footwear sector , it is incomprehensible that the Government is unprotecting a part of the Spanish industry, leaving out of these support measures a sector that from the first moment has turned with all its means to help those who they were on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic.
From FICE we demand that this situation be corrected and that companies in the footwear sector be given access to these protection and support measures. The situation of vulnerability referred to in the Royal Decree-Law did not stop workers and footwear companies from making all their resources available to the manufacture of masks, PPE and specialized footwear for health workers and professionals on the front line. This is the time to recognize the effort of the footwear sector and give them the oxygen that these measures suppose.
The footwear sector is presented as a united block to reverse this situation that we consider a mistake and we put ourselves at the disposal of the media to defend our position ” , concludes the statement.
