Baggage handlers call strike at Spain's airports in early December
Spain’s main trade union has announced a ground handler strike at all of the country’s airports in early December, at a time of increased travel in Spain due to two public holidays.
Spain's General Union of Workers (UGT) has proposed walkouts at all Spanish airports for ground handlers, those who manage luggage, loading and unloading of planes and cleaning.
It remains to be seen exactly which days the strikes will be carried out and if the rest of the unions will join the call to action or not.
However, it is expected the huelga will be between December 4th and 10th. This coincides with the December 6th and 8th public holidays in Spain, which Spaniards refer to as a puente, as they can bridge the public holidays with holiday leave and weekends for a longer period off work.
An estimated 70 percent of Spain’s 48 million inhabitants are expected to travel during these dates, meaning hundreds of thousands of flight passengers.
The ground handler stoppage may well coincide with one or two of the dates of a nationwide rail strike in Spain that's taking place in late November and early December.
Spain’s main trade union has announced it’s calling the ground handling strike due to the “constant non-compliance in labour matters by all companies” over the last seven years, the workers' representatives have argued.
UGT says it’s calling the strike as Spanish airport operator Aena "continues without a real, concrete and clear commitment" on how to act in situations of non-compliance with its labour agreements, and is limited to being "a tender manager."
The union alleges that in the last seven years there have been a series of non-compliance infractions in labour matters by "all the companies" awarded contracts and that these bad practices have been reflected in thousands of lawsuits, collective disputes and strike calls.
They went on to criticise that some of these contracts awarded by Aena have gone to companies that were already breaching the labour agreement.
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Spain's General Union of Workers (UGT) has proposed walkouts at all Spanish airports for ground handlers, those who manage luggage, loading and unloading of planes and cleaning.
It remains to be seen exactly which days the strikes will be carried out and if the rest of the unions will join the call to action or not.
However, it is expected the huelga will be between December 4th and 10th. This coincides with the December 6th and 8th public holidays in Spain, which Spaniards refer to as a puente, as they can bridge the public holidays with holiday leave and weekends for a longer period off work.
An estimated 70 percent of Spain’s 48 million inhabitants are expected to travel during these dates, meaning hundreds of thousands of flight passengers.
The ground handler stoppage may well coincide with one or two of the dates of a nationwide rail strike in Spain that's taking place in late November and early December.
Spain’s main trade union has announced it’s calling the ground handling strike due to the “constant non-compliance in labour matters by all companies” over the last seven years, the workers' representatives have argued.
UGT says it’s calling the strike as Spanish airport operator Aena "continues without a real, concrete and clear commitment" on how to act in situations of non-compliance with its labour agreements, and is limited to being "a tender manager."
The union alleges that in the last seven years there have been a series of non-compliance infractions in labour matters by "all the companies" awarded contracts and that these bad practices have been reflected in thousands of lawsuits, collective disputes and strike calls.
They went on to criticise that some of these contracts awarded by Aena have gone to companies that were already breaching the labour agreement.
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