Industrial action
Sections
Highlight
Sections
Highlight
Spanish road transport unions and employers' organisations reached a partial agreement on early retirement on Thursday 24 October, but this does not rule out the threat of a strike over Christmas. The unions confirmed that the strike in haulage transport has been called off after reaching an agreement with the bosses. However, the same objective was not achieved with bus and coach drivers, who have announced strike action on Monday 28 October; 11, 28 and 29 November and 5 and 9 December. Taxi drivers have also said that they will join the action. The strike will be indefinite from 23 December.
The agreement sought to include bus drivers among the at-risk professions for early retirement. The meeting went on until late on Thursday evening between the UGT and CC OO unions and the road transport employers' associations at the headquarters of the SIMA interconfederal mediation and arbitration service.
This last-minute negotiation to unblock the strike came after the failure of last Monday's meeting, where only the ambulance drivers' collective managed to reach an agreement with employers. The first meeting began at 1pm, with freight transport at the centre of the negotiations. The second, "the most complicated", according to union sources, did not begin until late in the afternoon. Drivers in the passenger transport sector and the employers' association Confebús ended the meeting without success, although they were open to continue negotiating "until the last moment".
250,000 lorry drivers
employees in Spain, approximately. If the self-employed join the call, there could be 500,000 workers on strike from next Monday.
Following the agreement with hauliers, the administration will be asked to initiate the procedure to implement the system of reduction coefficients at retirement age (from 67 to 60) in accordance with the provisions of the regulations. There are other groups in the transport sector that already benefit from this system, such as pilots and train drivers. In other words, if an agreement is reached, it will not mean the immediate adoption of early retirement, but will have to be discussed within the ministry.
This is why the unions insist at the meetings that all they are asking for is "the joint request" to the authorities, a "prerequisite" to start the procedure. "This does not mean that it will be implemented because that is the decision of the administration," they say.
The unions had called some 700,000 workers to strike, although the vast majority were in the haulage industry: some 250,000 salaried and about the same number of self-employed drivers who could have joined the strike. On Monday, 100,000 coach and city bus drivers and the more than 50,000 taxi drivers represented in the National Taxi Association (Antaxi) are called to strike. VTC drivers (Uber and Cabify, among others) will not join the strike for the moment.
The aim of this strike is to achieve early retirement for professional drivers. Both unions denounce the "systematic blocking" by the government and the various employers' organisations of the demand to bring forward the retirement age for drivers. The unions justify early retirement in the sector because of the high accident rate on the road due to the high age of drivers, especially from the age of 55.
"This is a demand that has been made for 20 years and has been blocked for more than a decade," they argue. They claim that there are proposals to improve working conditions in the sector that have been paralysed in the both houses of the Spanish parliament and they are calling on the government and companies to recognise the dangerous nature of the work, as well as to reduce social security contributions (which are six times higher in this sector due to accidents at work and occupational illnesses) and to make partial retirement with a relief contract voluntary.
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.
Reporta un error en esta noticia
Debido a un error no hemos podido dar de alta tu suscripción.
Por favor, ponte en contacto con Atención al Cliente.
¡Bienvenido a SURINENGLISH!
Tu suscripción con Google se ha realizado correctamente, pero ya tenías otra suscripción activa en SURINENGLISH.
Déjanos tus datos y nos pondremos en contacto contigo para analizar tu caso
¡Tu suscripción con Google se ha realizado correctamente!
La compra se ha asociado al siguiente email
Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados
¿Ya eres registrado?
Inicia sesiónNecesitas ser suscriptor para poder votar.