LGTB + leisure workers demonstrate for the closure

Hundreds of people demonstrate against the closure of leisure and restaurant venues of the Catalan Government

GAYLES.TV.- Hundreds of people gathered Friday at noon at the Sant Jaume Square de Barcelona to demonstrate in protest of the closures imposed by the Generalitat de Catalunya in the restaurant and nightlife sector to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the protesters were businessmen and leisure workers LGTB + from Barcelona who were protesting measures that will affect them for at least the next 15 days and that involve an ax blow to one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic.

According to attendees, closure is not the solution and many people run the risk of losing their jobs. Many entrepreneurs will not be able to resume their businesses after the great effort carried out after the last lockdown in March.

La LGTBI Chamber of Commerce Association, ACEGAL, has issued a statement in which it shows its support for the protest and its rejection of the measures announced by the Government of the Generalitat. According to the text "the bars and restaurants, which have already suffered restrictions for months, have strictly complied with all the measures, restrictions and protocols in force and cannot be identified as the culprits of this outbreak«.

Also, according to ACEGAL, community establishments LGTB + they are safe spaces for people to meet and socialize LGTB + than "often they cannot express their sexual orientation or gender identity freely outside these spaces and their closure aggravates the situation of vulnerability of many people in the LGTB + community«.

Industry outrage

For his part, Director of the Gremi de Restauració de Barcelona, Roger Pallarols, has indicated that what is being experienced is «the sign of the outrage of the sector" by "disproportionate, erroneous, unjust and criminalizing decision of the Generalitat towards the catering sector«.

pallarols pointed out that with its response to the crisis, the Generalitat send «9.000 catering companies at the close of income, but maintaining expenses”. He has also added that he sends "80.000 workers to an ERTO, waiting for social security to pay them on time, when we all know the difficulties that there have been recently to pay them”. For all these reasons, it states that “la Generalitat you have made a mistake and must rectify immediately".