The UGT union has announced the call for a strike by the workers of the platform control towers at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport from December 31 to January 7, in the middle of Christmas and also affecting the return operation.
To the mobilizations of Iberia's handling service workers coinciding with the Three Kings' holiday and the return operation (between January 5 and 8), which continue after failing to reach an agreement this week with the airline, is added Now another call by UGT for a strike at the busiest airport in Spain, Madrid Barajas.
Specifically, the union has called for mobilizations between December 31 and January 7 in the platform management service (SDP) of the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport in protest, as they say, for the impossibility of fixing "a labor situation unsustainable situation that directly affects the safety of airport operations".
The "exhausting days" due to multiple employment and high staff turnover (where 60% of staff have less than six years of experience ) compromise the necessary concentration in a critical service for airport security, according to UGT.
The call for strikes will affect the control of aircraft ground movements in the maneuvers prior to takeoff, as well as those carried out once the plane lands at the corresponding terminals.
UGT considers it "necessary and urgent" to resolve this labor dispute to avoid the "serious damage" that could be caused to the air traffic of this important Spanish airport. The union appeals to the "responsibility" of the company that manages these services to avoid the "enormous delays" that may occur on these dates and that would affect direct flights and national and international stopovers.
According to the union, this airport service "plays a critical role in airport operations", since they are in charge of ordering the movement of surface flights, from two of the Barajas towers , in a large area that covers 70% of the airport taxiways. "Although we are not air traffic controllers, some of our functions are similar, but we are completely different services," the union explains.
UGT explains that the problem arises after the awarding of the service to the company Slyway in 2022 ,
"which offered 15% less than the previous company and more than 30% lower than the starting price." According to the union, "this reduction has resulted in the inability to maintain previous working conditions, taking advantage of the absence of subrogation and collective agreement in an essential service of public interest."
The union claims that since 2011 the SDP has experienced "a progressive deterioration" in working conditions and quality of service under various companies.
As explained by the current management of Skyway, "with its reduction in the initial tender price it has intensified the problem in an economic context of accumulated inflation of 24% since 2011, while salaries have never risen in line and those of new hires have fallen more than 30%."
The union assures that since 2011 the SDP has experienced "a progressive deterioration" in working conditions
"We are also going on strike because we are witnesses of how the service has been deteriorating and security has been degraded, because we are afraid of the consequences it could have and because it seems that no one cares," warn the union that describes the plan as transition made by Skyway as "wild".
UGT regrets that workers have to face the loss of days off, reduced breaks, penalties for medical leave, reduced staff as well as salary freezes. They also report that they are forced to work rotating shifts, at night without holidays, as well as undergo medical tests and continuing training.
In the opinion of the union, the main person responsible for this situation would be the airport manager Aena , since " it puts out to tender the service to the highest bidder protected by the protection of the public treasury and the free market."
"This strike seeks to highlight the unacceptable decline in operational safety and service quality in Barajas, primarily putting the passenger at risk," the union concludes in a statement in which it demands the company adopt "urgent" measures and address the proposals. of the workforce "to restore labor rights through the negotiation of the first sectoral agreement for the service, which guarantees quality standards in line with the critical importance of the tasks performed."
Source : Europa Press
