Hirekin

A Basque association for social inclusion organizations

Hirekin is the Business Association of the Basque Country’s Social Intervention Sector in the field of Social Inclusion. It has operated since 2009 and is made up of business associations from the three historic territories: Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa.

Hirekin brings together more than 75 social-sector organizations—including associations, foundations, and cooperatives—that employ more than 4,000 professionals, such as educators, social workers, and social integration specialists working in care and inclusion.

What the association does

• Represents the social sector and serves as a point of contact with public agencies, labor unions, and sector networks at the regional and national levels.
• Negotiates sector-wide social-intervention collective agreements governing labor relations at member organizations.
• Provides labor and legal guidance and operational support to member organizations.
• Offers training, research, innovation projects, conferences, discussion forums, and shared ethics frameworks.
• Monitors developments in the sector and reviews practices in other regions and at the national and international levels.

Collective agreements

Hirekin takes part in establishing the sector’s labor framework through the Basque Country social-intervention agreements: the Third Agreement for Álava, Sixth for Bizkaia, and Fourth for Gipuzkoa.

Structure and reach

The association is made up of three territorial business associations, one for each historic territory, representing social-initiative organizations working in Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa.