The Independent Union of Workers of the Canary Islands (SITCA) has announced mobilizations this Tuesday in several airports of the archipelago during the first fortnight of July as a preliminary step to the strike called at the company CMD Aeropuertos Canarios S.L., responsible for the fuel supply to a relevant part of the airlines operating in the islands.
According to the union's statement, the gatherings are planned at the airports of Tenerife Sur, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura, with the aim of "conveying to public opinion, institutions, and users the labor reality that the company's workers experience daily."
SITCA attributes this decision to what it considers a "lack of negotiating will" on the part of the management of CMD Aeropuertos Canarios during the collective bargaining agreement negotiation process.
The union maintains that, despite having "substantially" reduced its initial proposals to bridge the gap, the company maintains a blocking stance that prevents reaching an agreement.
Among the main demands, the union points to the workload, staff shortages, and the arduousness and danger associated with the activity of storing, handling, and supplying fuel to aircraft.
In its opinion, this is a "strategic" and "essential" task for air transport in the Canary Islands that entails high levels of responsibility and risk.
The announced mobilizations precede the strike called from 00:00 hours on July 15.
With these actions, SITCA intends to make visible the existing discontent among the staff and warn of a situation that, according to the union, "admits no further delays."
The union has indicated that, for organizational reasons, it will not make the specific dates of the gatherings at each airport public at the moment, and they will be communicated in the coming days.
However, it has reiterated that it continues to advocate for "serious, responsible, and reality-based" negotiation as a way to resolve the conflict and that there is still room to avoid a strike "that could have significant repercussions on air transport in the Canary Islands."