Cuenca.- The measures of the Government of Spain “have a real and direct benefit on the people who live and work in the province of Cuenca”. This was pointed out on Tuesday by the delegate of the Government in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, who appeared at a press conference in the Conquense capital accompanied by the subdelegate of the Government in Cuenca, Mari Luz Fernández.
Milagros Tolón has reported on the social and economic measures that the central executive has adopted “to dignify the lives of workers and offer more opportunities for families in order to build a fairer country” and that are reflected in the data recorded in the province of Cuenca during 2023.
In this regard, he referred first of all to the revaluation of pensions according to the cost of living, which has allowed, with the Government of Pedro Sánchez, the average retirement pension in the province of Cuenca to have gone from 923 euros in 2018 to 1,196 euros for this 2024, an increase of 29.58%.
“With the PP model, which has kept pensions frozen since 2013, the average retirement pension in Cuenca today would be 940 euros, but with the PSOE Government, as I say, it is 1,196 euros,” said Milagros Tolón, who said that 25,889 retired pensioners from the province of Cuenca benefit from this measure.
This measure, said the delegate of the Government, “is undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements that have been consolidated in the last five years by the Government of Pedro Sánchez” and has allowed many retirees and retirees from Castilla-La Mancha to enjoy a better pension.
Undefined contracts
On the other hand, the reforms in the labor field have allowed that since 2019 the number of indefinite contracts has increased in Cuenca by 343%. This improvement in the quality and stability of employment has resulted in that from the 7,286 indefinite contracts in 2019 it has gone to 32,303 in 2024; that is, “25,017 indefinite contracts more than five years ago”.
Social Security
With regard to Social Security, at the end of December 2023, 81,063 members were registered in the province of Cuenca, 5,059 more than in December 2018.
On the other hand, Milagros Tolón has indicated that the State allocated in the academic year 2022-2023 4.4 million euros in scholarships, from which 2,023 students from the province of Cuenca benefited.
For the most vulnerable groups, the Minimum Vital Income has reached 6,340 people in Cuenca; and the Social Electric Bonus benefits 13,917 people.
Employment, Minimum Wage and Regional Incentives
The delegate has completed this review “with three magnitudes of regional level that are also a reflection of the economic management of the Government of Spain”. Thus, the total number of unemployed in Castilla-La Mancha in 2018 was 160,000 people, and at the end of 2023 it is 126,800; that is, “43,200 unemployed less in the region than when the PP ruled”.
As for the increase in the recently approved minimum wage, it will benefit 99.100 workers from Castilla-La Mancha. With the 5% increase agreed with the unions, it reaches 1,134 euros, which is an increase of 54% since Pedro Sánchez is president of the Government.
Finally, Milagros Tolón has referred to regional incentives aimed at companies in the region. In 2023, 25 projects involving a total investment of 254.2 million euros were approved for Castilla-La Mancha. “These initiatives have received 53.3 million euros of funding from the Government of Spain and have created 764 jobs and maintained 3,240 jobs.”
“These are the figures that indicate that we manage the economy better because we put it at the service of the people,” said Milagros Tolón, who insisted that the data “confirm that people are the central axis of the action of the Government of Spain and their priority is that the agreements adopted in the Council of Ministers reach the people and improve the lives of the citizens who live in our towns and cities.”
Territorial cohesion and infrastructure
For her part, the deputy delegate of the Government, Mari Luz Fernández, referred to the “investment commitment” of the Government of Spain “both in policies of demographic challenge and territorial cohesion and in infrastructures and bet on people, especially the most disadvantaged”.
In this regard, it has pointed out that 7,887 companies and 699 self-employed workers in Cuenca have benefited from 11.4 million euros in operating aid. In addition, “the Government of Spain has allocated almost 9.5 million euros through the Special Rural Employment Plan for depressed areas from 2018 to 2023”. In total, 21 million euros destined for territorial cohesion, demographic challenge and employment.
In terms of investment in infrastructure, the investment of the Spanish Government in the province is around 100 million euros in the last 5 years with such important actions as the Cuenca Police Station, with an investment of 10 million euros; investment in barracks; the new headquarters of the BRIF; the next intervention in the Penitentiary Studies Center or the planned improvements on roads such as the A-40 and A-3 link; the new headquarters of the AEMET or the Cuenca Teruel motorway.