UGT, the union organising the Spanish airport strikes for Groundforce ground staff alongside USO and CCOO, highlighted today, Wednesday, that the industrial action is causing a ‘chaos’, with delays of ‘over an hour, cancelled flights and thousands of abandoned suitcases’.
The strike, which began last Monday, is scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12 Spanish airports - Barcelona, Madrid, Palma, Málaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Valencia, Lanzarote, Bilbao, Fuerteventura and Zaragoza - for an indefinite period and across three time slots: between 05.00–07.00, between 11.00–17.00 and 22.00–00.00.
Among the incidents that, according to the UGT, are occurring at the airports are widespread delays averaging one hour per flight, flights left unattended and essential services “overwhelmed”, flight cancellations, thousands of suitcases left unloaded or delivered late, a build-up of aircraft on the apron, last-minute changes to airline procedures, operational overload and increased work-related stress.
CCOO has explained that the first day of the strike ended with more than 40 flights departing without loaded luggage, congestion in the baggage sorting areas, and suitcases potentially being sent through without the label-scanning processes in order to “speed things up”.
The UGT union reports that, following the first two days of the strike, “it is clear that the situation at Groundforce is serious both in operational terms and in terms of labour relations”, as the company is acting in a “disproportionate” manner and “crossing lines that will have to be examined through the established legal channels”.
The union criticises an ‘especially serious’ working environment, with sanctions described as ‘very serious’ being imposed on striking workers, complaints filed with the Labour Inspectorate regarding alleged impersonation during the strike, and the mobilisation of the Guardia Civil to contain the situation. UGT considers this to be the ‘epilogue of irresponsible management on the part of the company’, which ‘seems to care very little about its workers, its customers and the thousands of passengers affected’.
‘The current situation reflects a total breakdown in labour relations and an unprecedented deterioration in the internal climate,’ the union highlights in a press release in which it also reiterates its willingness ‘to engage in genuine dialogue’. In light of this situation, UGT is seeking permission to organise rallies next week.
CCOO and UGT have branded the minimum services imposed by the Ministry of Transport as ‘abusive’, set at 100% for emergency services or transfers for the Ministry of the Interior, whilst ranging between 60% and 80% for domestic flights to non-mainland destinations or those subject to public service obligations, depending on the airport and the dates.
For services connecting mainland Spanish cities where the alternative means of transport involves a journey time of five hours or more, minimum services range from 49% to 60%, whilst where the alternative is less than five hours, minimum services range from 27% to 36%, depending on the airport and the date.
However, according to CCOO, the majority of staff not subject to minimum service requirements have exercised their right to strike. CCOO, another of the trade unions that has called this strike, points out that the protest is in response to the breach of the collective agreement and the loss of purchasing power reported by the workforce. The Aviation and Tourism Services sector of FSC-CCOO warns that the industrial action will continue until “compliance with the collective agreement and decent working conditions for the entire workforce are guaranteed”.