Spain's airport staff Christmas strike called off
The leading Spanish trade union which called on 10,000 Spanish airport workers to stage walkouts on key dates over Christmas in Spain has cancelled its industrial action plans after reaching a deal over worker bonuses.
Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), the second largest trade union in Spain, recently sent shockwaves through Spain’s travel industry after announcing it wanted airport workers across the country to not work on six key dates over the Christmas holidays.
The reason given for this was that Aena employees hadn’t received the productivity bonus their contract promises when a profit is recorded, remuneration which could make up around 2 percent of workers’ annual wages.
“Air traffic has recovered to 2019 levels (a record year for Spain) and some airports have exceeded them,” Francisco José Casado Moreno, CCOO general secretary for Aena, stated last Friday.
“Workers of the Aena group demand therefore what corresponds to us from the recovery.”
Talks were held on Tuesday and Wednesday between Aena’s management, Spain’s Ministry of Transport and CCOO, during which representatives for Spain’s main airport operator officially confirmed the payment of the productivity bonus to Aena employees in 2022 and as a standard practice from now on.
On Wednesday night, CCOO confirmed that the strike dates that were due to take place on December 22nd, 23rd, 30th and 31st, as well as January 6th and 8th would not go ahead.
The union said that the “pressure” applied through the media had been “key” to obtaining and normalising productivity bonuses for Aena workers, considering the outcome “satisfactory”.
Aena workers will receive 80 percent of the bonus in January and the remaining 20 percent in March.
Aena, which operates 45 airports and two heliports in Spain, has more than 13,000 international workers according to their company website.
The news will give some relief to travellers flying to or from Spain this Christmas as there are several other strikes taking place in the country over the festive period, as well as other stoppages in the United Kingdom and France.
These include strikes by pilots who work for Spanish airline Air Nostrum as well as ground staff and cabin crew for Vueling and Ryanair.
READ ALSO: The strike dates to avoid when travelling to and from Spain this Christmas
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Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), the second largest trade union in Spain, recently sent shockwaves through Spain’s travel industry after announcing it wanted airport workers across the country to not work on six key dates over the Christmas holidays.
The reason given for this was that Aena employees hadn’t received the productivity bonus their contract promises when a profit is recorded, remuneration which could make up around 2 percent of workers’ annual wages.
“Air traffic has recovered to 2019 levels (a record year for Spain) and some airports have exceeded them,” Francisco José Casado Moreno, CCOO general secretary for Aena, stated last Friday.
“Workers of the Aena group demand therefore what corresponds to us from the recovery.”
Talks were held on Tuesday and Wednesday between Aena’s management, Spain’s Ministry of Transport and CCOO, during which representatives for Spain’s main airport operator officially confirmed the payment of the productivity bonus to Aena employees in 2022 and as a standard practice from now on.
On Wednesday night, CCOO confirmed that the strike dates that were due to take place on December 22nd, 23rd, 30th and 31st, as well as January 6th and 8th would not go ahead.
The union said that the “pressure” applied through the media had been “key” to obtaining and normalising productivity bonuses for Aena workers, considering the outcome “satisfactory”.
Aena workers will receive 80 percent of the bonus in January and the remaining 20 percent in March.
Aena, which operates 45 airports and two heliports in Spain, has more than 13,000 international workers according to their company website.
The news will give some relief to travellers flying to or from Spain this Christmas as there are several other strikes taking place in the country over the festive period, as well as other stoppages in the United Kingdom and France.
These include strikes by pilots who work for Spanish airline Air Nostrum as well as ground staff and cabin crew for Vueling and Ryanair.
READ ALSO: The strike dates to avoid when travelling to and from Spain this Christmas
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