The unions have decided to suspend the planned stoppages in the intercity transport services of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the Canary Islands Transport Federation announced this Tuesday.
The workers' representatives have agreed to "suspend, not call off, the planned strike days as long as the negotiations progress at a reasonable pace respecting the basic lines proposed by the employers' association", indicates the employers' association.
This means that at any time they may reactivate the strike without having to submit a new prior notice, because legally the notice already communicated to the authorities remains in force.
Partial stoppages for ten days
For ten days, the workers have been holding partial stoppages, but total stoppages have already been called for October 6, 7 and 8 in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote and on the 7th, 8th and 9th of the same month in Gran Canaria.
The representatives of the FET and the CCOO union held a meeting this Monday to bring positions closer and try to resume negotiations, in which the employers' association presented the union representation with a proposal with the implementation of a collective agreement with a provincial scope and the establishment of a basic provincial salary table that includes the concepts common to the affected islands.
It also proposed the recognition of the conditions applicable to the subrogation of personnel in cases where there is a replacement of companies.
The employers' association has asked to separate those economic or organizational elements of special complexity because they are affected by differences that it believes are "insurmountable" between the different islands, which would continue to be regulated by the island or company agreements.
It also sees the need to establish a date for the reactivation of the negotiating table within a week.
The businessmen asked the union to assess the convenience of resuming the conversations without the current strike continuing.
Immediate suspension
After the meeting, the strike committee analyzed the proposal of the employers' association and decided to suspend the planned stoppages.
The suspension of the strike will be immediate, for which companies must be flexible to facilitate the incorporation into their shifts of workers who are currently supporting the strike, indicates the FET.
The unions ask to "coordinate agendas to resume the activity of the negotiation table as soon as possible with the strike committee" and maintain the necessary contacts with the island administrations if it is necessary to clarify the viability of some of the points under negotiation.
After the suspension of the stoppages, the FET expresses "a prudent satisfaction for the result of the meeting and thanks the workers represented by CCOO for the act of responsibility in suspending the strike, in the confidence that a satisfactory agreement can finally be reached."