The workers of Clever-Iberia in Lanzarote held an assembly this Friday in which they did not ratify the pre-agreement proposed by the company and demanded again that it withdraw the employment termination file that affects 14 workers. If the company does not do so, the employees will go on strike. Moreover, this Monday the Works Council will meet to shape a strike notice if the management of Clever does not back down.
Clever has already proposed an employment regulation file since December 2009. However, on February 23, company executives informed the Committee of their intention to formalize an employment termination file, which would affect 14 employees. The company also wanted to reduce the working hours of all employees.
The workers do not understand why the company wants to propose these dismissals when the volume of work has increased "significantly" throughout this year and, in addition, the forecasts are quite good. Likewise, the employees do not understand why they want to dismiss personnel with permanent contracts after years of work for Clever and, however, they are hiring workers on a temporary basis. "In recent days the company is hiring people, but we do not know if it is because of our strike threat," said the president of the Works Council, Juan Luzardo.
Luzardo explained on Radio Lanzarote that the company presented a pre-agreement proposal last Tuesday to the Works Council and it showed it to the workers' assembly this past Friday. "The workers flatly refused, so we have decided to maintain the strike call in case the company does not withdraw the employment suspension file," he said, while acknowledging that this will cause "irreparable damage" to the airport, but assured that the employees are "caught".
Petition to the institutions
"We cannot continue to give in, we need the authorities to get their act together, because we are giving a third-world image at the airport," Luzardo stressed.
The president of the Works Council assured that the workers will "pressure" the airport management to ensure that there is "a minimum of quality" in Guacimeta and "so that the staff are not so cut back". "There have been days when delays have formed at the airport because there was no staff," lamented Luzardo, who insisted that there are "not too many" workers, but "that they are missing". "Perhaps the problem is one of organization, but that has to be solved by the company," he said.
At Friday's meeting, the workers also recalled that the company can send them to unemployment for 50 days if it deems it necessary, so they do not understand why it is not using these measures. Clever employees have appealed to the authorities to join forces and maintain jobs at the airport.
