An authorized source from the Iberia company confirmed yesterday to La Voz that the company received the official call from the Government of the Canary Islands and will attend the negotiation table that will take place tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in the plenary hall of the Island Council. The company announces from Madrid that the people responsible for representing the airline have decision-making capacity. The General Directorate of Labor of the Canarian Executive summoned the Strike Committee and Iberia in order to mediate in the conflict that has plagued the Lanzarote airport since June 26.
In this way, the Canarian Executive fulfills the promise of summoning the parties in dispute again, since Iberia did not attend the first call of the dialogue table held last Friday. The Labor Directorate, dependent on the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, reminds both Iberia and its workers that in the event that the conflict is prolonged and once the inability to reach an agreement that puts an end to the situation created is verified, and in consideration of the very serious damages that the prolongation of the same would entail for the tourism sector as a strategic factor of the Canarian economy, it may be of interest to the competent authority to adopt a mandatory arbitration award.
Relief planes
There is no doubt about the consequences that the strike of the handling services is leaving on the image of the Island as a tourist destination. Yesterday, two cargo planes arrived in Lanzarote, chartered by the charter companies, to take the suitcases that were left on the ground this Sunday to their destinations. A part of the 7,000 packages were dispatched on Monday via Fuerteventura and the rest left in the two contracted aircraft.
Likewise, the tour operators picked up the suitcases of the tourists who arrived on Sunday at the airport yesterday, but who had to go to their accommodation without them because they were not unloaded from the planes. According to the Strike Committee, 4,000 suitcases were not unloaded from the holds of 27 planes that landed in Guacimeta.
Those who make their August
The monumental damaging effects of the days of stoppages are incomparable with the profits that some clothing and swimwear stores, especially in tourist centers, have these days, which have literally made their August to the point of tripling their daily sales by selling items to tourists who have run out of clothing as a result of the strike. This editorial staff spoke with several shop assistants in Playa Blanca and confirmed that a good percentage of the sales correspond to tourists who buy and ask for an invoice to send the receipts to the airlines and thus have the option of reimbursement. In August, a swimwear and sportswear store can invoice between 700 and 1,500 euros daily, however, last Sunday sales skyrocketed to 3,000 euros. Not in vain some businesses had to call in reinforcement staff to properly serve the desperate customers.
