September is more complicated in Spanish airports after Ryanair pilots announced yesterday five days of unemployment, which add up to the 10 scheduled by the cabin crew at the 13 bases that the low-cost airline has in Spain. There will be strike every weekend. If we add to this the indefinite strike of the security personnel of the Barcelona-El Prat airport and those of the Iberia ground personnel at the Catalan airfield, we find that there is no truce day in the calendar back to school.

The strike committee of Iberia in Barcelona reactivated the stoppages planned for this Friday and Saturday, after announcing on the same morning yesterday that it gave a “truce” to the company and canceled the stoppages by accepting the proposals of the Ministry of Labor of the Generalitat and the company's management commitment to improve the working conditions of employees at the El Prat airport.

However, the strike committee backed down when it proved that the management of Iberia Barcelona "refuses to admit" the conditions that were put on the table at the meeting held in the morning with mediation.

strike calendar

Thus, the unions maintain the planned stoppages for this Friday and Saturday "five hours later" to call them off, since they consider that "the company has refused" to move forward, which means acting "recklessly."

The strike committee denounced that the management of Iberia «has despised the workers, the companies to which it offers its service, the clients and the Generalitat». Therefore, he is urged to "give explanations about his behavior and his lack of will to end precariousness and contempt" towards the staff of Barcelona.

In Madrid, where Iberia land personnel had also planned stoppages for similar reasons, they are also maintained. Unions and company had met on Tuesday to negotiate and also failed to reach any agreement.

As explained to EL MUNDO Israel Quirós, a member of the strike committee, «we work in the same sector and are the two main airports in Spain. That is why we agree on the main points but, nevertheless, there are claims that are local ». He adds that they expect Iberia to contact them to negotiate and be able to follow in the footsteps of their colleagues in Barcelona.

For its part, Iberia Airport Services defended that it cannot create the monitoring commission proposed by the Ministry of Labor when considering that "it would imply the violation of freedom of association," he said in a statement. The airline said it cannot promote a tripartite commission in which "only the company, the mediation and the unions calling for the strike are represented."

more stoppages

For its part, the Ryanair Pilot Sepla union yesterday registered its strike notice for September 19, 20, 22, 27 and 29 to protest the closure of three of the bases Ryanair has in Spain (Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Girona) in January and whose closure will lead to layoffs. Ryanair is the airline that carries more passengers in our country. These stops are added to those programmed by the cabin crew for days 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 28. Not all coincide, but most do.

In addition, on September 2 and 6 Ryanair staff in Madrid will protest in front of the Ministries of Development and Labor to protest the closure of these three bases, which they consider key (they are in tourist locations). Ryanair's management met yesterday precisely with several positions of the Territorial and Labor departments of the Generalitat to address the plans of the airline to close its base at the Girona airport, which threatens to leave the 160 working people unemployed there.

Promotion decreed yesterday the minimum services for these days, which protects 100% of non-peninsular flights, 60% of peninsular and international flights that have alternatives of travel equal to or greater than five hours and 35% of peninsular flights with a Travel alternative less than five hours.

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