The Iberia Works Council denounced yesterday that strikers are being prevented from accessing their jobs at the airport, pointing to the airport director, Dionisio Canomanuel, as the sole responsible for this situation.
The protests with whistles, clanging of pots and pans, and slogans at the access control were immediate, to the surprise of tourists, who once again endured the effects of the ground services strike, especially after 7:00 PM.
Unattended planes and delays
Unattended planes, delays, and visitors who had to resign themselves to returning to their accommodations without luggage were once again the norm.
The workers believe that the airport's top manager is violating their right to freedom of association and remind that the Labor Inspectorate has already issued several warnings as a result of repeated complaints.
"On slow days, they let us through, but on busier days, they prevent us from accessing," said the visibly upset spokesperson for the Works Council, León Fajardo.
Baggage handlers, administrative staff, and ground plane assistants remain on indefinite strike on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays due to the uncertainty of their future after the handling contract between Iberia and Binter Canarias ends on July 26.
Extension of the working day
The Works Council says that Iberia, in an attempt to control the effects of the strike, has extended the working day for temporary workers from 12 to 30 hours per week. Of the 180 workers that the company has in Lanzarote, 130 are permanent and 50 are temporary. "Forty permanent workers could be left on the street if there is no solution," said Fajardo. The sector agreement speaks of a surplus of staff for layoffs and subrogations to occur, however, the Works Council argues that there is no surplus staff at this time. What Binter does or fails to do should not affect the workers because their conflict is with Iberia.
Binter will not renew with Iberia
An authorized source from the company Binter assured that the airline will not negotiate with Iberia the renewal of the ground services contract at the Canary Islands airports. "The workers' employment relationship is with Iberia, and we have nothing to do with that," the source stressed.
Binter will hire a staff of 350 workers in the Canary Islands, between full-time and part-time positions, to set up its own handling and leave the dependence on Iberia after July 26.
The company clarified that these workers are new hires, although people who work temporarily with Iberia and workers from other airlines have applied to the call.
The offer that Iberia made to Binter for the continuity of the contract involved an increase of 26 percent compared to the current contract and an increase from 13 to 17 percent of the percentage allocated to handling of the total costs of the company, so its continuity "endangered the life of Binter and the viability of the transport system in the Canary Islands."
