The Canary Islands Government withdrew from mediation

The Cabildo manages to convince Iberia workers to suspend the strike

The Strike Committee of Iberia's ground staff at Guacimeta airport decided late this Thursday to call off the strike initially planned ...

August 18 2005 (20:42 WEST)
The Cabildo manages to convince Iberia workers to suspend the strike
The Cabildo manages to convince Iberia workers to suspend the strike

The Strike Committee of the Iberia ground staff at Guacimeta airport decided late this Thursday to call off the strike initially planned for next Sunday. The reason, after the failed negotiation attempt experienced throughout the morning and afternoon with the representatives of the airline, had to do with the mediation of the Island Council.

In fact, it was the president herself, Inés Rojas, who confirmed this Friday morning on the program Buenos Días Lanzarote de Radio Lanzarote that they had managed to get the workers to accept their request to try to minimize the negative effects that this conflict is having on the image of the Island as much as possible. For this, there was no other possibility than to call off the planned stoppages that would have once again caused chaos at the airport.

The president also valued the gesture that the workers have had, especially considering that the Iberia representatives did not budge an inch from their initial position, denying any possibility of reaching an agreement.

Now all that remains is for the highest-level political negotiations that have already begun through Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA) to bear some fruit or for the report prepared by the General Directorate of Labor of the Canary Islands Government to end in the preparation of a mandatory award.

Chronicle of a failed meeting

Iberia and the Strike Committee, convened by the General Directorate of Labor of the Canary Islands Government, failed to reach an agreement after six hours of intense negotiations at the headquarters of the Island Council. The Executive had great hopes of at least achieving a rapprochement, but the radical position of both parties prevented it, according to Pedro Tomás Pino Pérez, director of Labor, who also stated that the Government is withdrawing from mediation after this failed attempt.

The director of Airports of Iberia, Fernando Sarmetero Vidal, argued that negotiating outside the first Sector Agreement of Handling supposes a fraud to it and a deception to the unions that endorsed it, however, León Fajardo, spokesperson for the Strike Committee, specified that at no time have the workers asked to negotiate the agreement, but rather they demand its rigorous compliance. Therein lies the main disagreement.

The employees once again claimed, showing a resolution from the Labor Inspectorate last May, that 50 temporary workers be given permanent contracts, a fact that the company flatly refused to accept. What's more, Iberia asked for the immediate cancellation of the strike in exchange for nothing, while the strikers remain unyielding in their position.

Without a negotiation schedule

The Canary Islands Government and the Labor Inspectorate met previously with Iberia executives and then with the workers to then unite all the interlocutors. The round of meetings began at 10:00 a.m. and ended without satisfactory results at 4:00 p.m.

The most serious thing is that a negotiation schedule was not established either, so the situation returns to a standstill. The Strike Committee urges the Ministry of Development to intervene immediately, while preparing for the strike next Sunday.

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