The Insular Union of CCOO of Lanzarote and the Legal Representation of the Workers (RLPT) of URBASER, S.A., in the Selective Collection Service of Lanzarote, publicly denounce the attitude maintained by the contracting company and the Cabildo of Lanzarote regarding the strike called by the workers, as well as the imposition of minimum services that this union organization considers "absolutely disproportionate and abusive".
According to them, in similar services in other autonomous communities, the minimum services are around 35% or 40%, reaching a maximum of 50% of the staff to cover the service on holidays.
From CCOO we want to point out that, despite having formally communicated the strike call more than ten days in advance, a specific meeting has not been held with the strike committee to address the set of demands that motivated said call, a situation that evidences, in the opinion of this organization, "the lack of real will to face the labor conflict".
"It is especially worrying that both the company and the Cabildo of Lanzarote itself have waited until the last moment to promote meetings with social representation, when they have had sufficient time to establish effective negotiation that would allow seeking solutions and avoiding the development of the conflict," they point out.
The two meetings held to date, held in the last two days, that is, already within the strike period, have focused mainly on issues related to the negotiation of the collective agreement, without substantial progress having been made to resolve the labor problems that gave rise to the strike call.
In this regard, CCOO denounces that the business side "continues to stubbornly refuse to present proposals that would unblock one of the main obstacles to negotiation: the maintenance of the distribution of the working day from Monday to Friday, a condition that the workers have been defending and which constitutes one of the fundamental elements of the labor conflict".
For this trade union organization, it is "incomprehensible that, after a prolonged period of collective bargaining, in which the social side has presented more than four proposals, the company continues to offer no alternatives that allow for bridging positions and leaves job stability for both the service and the workers".
Likewise, they recall that the strike call does not respond exclusively to issues related to the working day, but also to breaches denounced in matters of rest, occupational risk prevention, economic compensation, and application of the collective agreement, demands that continue to be pending an effective response, all motivated by the fact that the strike committee has not been formally constituted.
Abusive and Disproportionate Minimum Services
One of the aspects that causes the most concern to this trade union organization is the action of the Cabildo de Lanzarote in relation to the minimum services established for the development of the strike.
From CCOO, they consider "absolutely abusive and disproportionate the setting of minimum services at 80%, especially when the aim is for the selective collection service to continue to be provided with practically the same frequency and conditions as it is provided ordinarily, said literally in writing by the public administration".
In the opinion of this trade union organization, this decision constitutes a "serious limitation of the effective exercise of the fundamental right to strike, recognized in article 28.2 of the Spanish Constitution, by considerably reducing the capacity of workers to exercise a legitimate measure of pressure in defense of their labor rights".
"It is not admissible that, under the justification of guaranteeing the provision of a public service, conditions are established that, in practice, may empty the right to strike itself of content," they argue.
CCOO recalls that the establishment of minimum services must respond to criteria of necessity, proportionality, and justification, guaranteeing the balance between the protection of essential services for the community and the effective exercise of a fundamental right of workers.
"However, we understand that maintaining the usual frequency of service practically unaltered is a measure that exceeds what is reasonable and that can make the exercise of the strike an ineffective action," they indicate.
From this union organization, they make it clear that guaranteeing essential services "cannot become an excuse to guarantee the absolute normality of business activity during a strike, as this would distort the constitutional purpose of this right."
Given the circumstances that have been occurring since the communication of the strike call, CCOO and the representation of the workers have already informed the competent bodies of the irregularities detected in the development of this labor dispute.
Likewise, the union's legal services "are studying the actions carried out by both URBASER, S.A. and the Cabildo de Lanzarote itself, with the aim of determining whether there may have been violations of fundamental rights, especially regarding the effective exercise of the right to strike."
"We consider it especially serious that a public administration, which must act as a guarantor of respect for constitutional rights, adopts decisions that, in our opinion, may disproportionately hinder the exercise of a fundamental right of the working class," they continue.
CCOO recalls that the Cabildo de Lanzarote, the island administration, must assume an active role in seeking solutions, ensuring both the adequate provision of public service and compliance with the labor rights of those who make it possible daily, since currently the workers present violations of labor rights included in the strike communication itself.
Finally, from the Insular Union of CCOO of Lanzarote, they reiterate their "full willingness to continue negotiating and seeking a way out of the conflict through dialogue and the achievement of agreements that allow for the guarantee of decent working conditions for all staff."
"However, we believe that the negotiation must be based on real proposals, and that they offer solutions to the labor demands put forward by the workers, as well as the needs presented by the service. To conclude, we want to convey that today, October 15, 2026, we will hold a workers' assembly at the doors of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, starting at 1:00 PM, in order to make visible the current situation," they assure.
"From CCOO we will continue defending the rights of the URBASER staff and using all the union and legal mechanisms at our disposal to ensure that no business or administrative action can undermine the legitimate exercise of the fundamental rights of the workers. Because defending a quality public service also means defending the rights and working conditions of those who provide it," they conclude.
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