This Monday begins the strike of air traffic controllers in the privatised control towers of Spanish airports – four of them in the Canary Islands – called by the unions USCA and CCOO. Specifically, all work shifts starting between 00.00 and 24.00 on 30 January and 6, 13, 20 and 27 February are called to strike.
The strike has been called in view of what the unions consider to be the failure of the negotiations of the 4th collective agreement of the sector between the legal representation of the workers and the service providers in the liberalised control towers with the employers, made up of FerroNats and Saerco.
At the negotiating committee meeting held last Thursday, Saerco put on the table a proposal for a CPI increase for the years 2021 (0%), 2022 (1%), 2023 (2%) and 2024 (2.5%) which, according to the unions, does not meet the expectations of the workers “as it falls far short of their proposal”.
Saerco claims that the proposal for a 5.5% increase in its wage bill “puts the viability of the company at serious risk”.
In view of this situation, the union justifies that, in the awarding process by the administration through electronic bidding for the concession of licences, Saerco obtained Lot 2 (Jerez, Seville, Cuatro Vientos -in Madrid-, Vigo and A Coruña), “offering in its bid an economic proposal several tens of millions of euros below its competitors”.
The first day of strike action will take place this Monday and will continue every Monday in February. The minimum services for the strike range from 18% to 84%.
The stoppages will take place on Mondays 30 January and 6, 13, 20 and 27 February in the towers of A Coruña, Alicante-Elche, Castellón, Cuatro Vientos, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, Ibiza, Jerez, Lleida, Murcia, Sabadell, Seville, Valencia and Vigo, and 162 workers are called to strike.
CCOO reiterates that the aim of this strike is “to support a crucial sector in a country where tourism is one of the pillars of growth, and which has demonstrated maturity and the maintenance of very high standards of quality, safety and punctuality”.
