Strike action will be taking place in Majorca with unions set to take a stand. From July 10, industrial action will begin with up to 180,000 workers in the Balearics to be involved in the movement.
The strike action will be taking place in the hospitality industry and it will continue throughout July with a total of six days. The dates the strikes will take place include July 10, 18,19, 25, 26 and 31. A day of negotiations was held but this has now culminated in no agreements being made.
The talks were held with the hopes of averting the strikes but after no agreement was reached, planned strikes will now go ahead.
One of the main issues was disagreements over the percentage of wage increases for the next three years but this was not the only problem. Other issues include sick pay which the UGT (union) are also negotiating.
In terms of wages, the wage demand has been reduced from 17% to 16%. Originally, the union asked for 19% while employers said 11%.
Negotiations were held on Monday 23 June with hopes they could be complete by Thursday, reports Majorca Daily Bulletin.
The executive vice-president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, María José Aguiló, said: “We are still at a point where negotiations are ongoing.” By 6.30pm, UGT representatives walked out of the meeting.
José García Relucio, secretary of the Federation of Services, Mobility and Consumption, said: “We will not accept a single step backwards in acquired rights.
“We have come here to negotiate to improve the conditions of hospitality workers, not to make them worse.”
The CCOO spokesperson confirmed that his union fully supports the strike call and that on Friday will deliver the ballot to the TAMIB (Balearic Arbitration and Mediation Court) to request it.
The president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, Javier Vich, stated that the call for a strike constituted a “failure” on the part of the negotiating parties.
Disagreements over absenteeism and consecutive weekly rest days have finally torpedoed the talks.
The federation has stated that it would continue to make every effort to reach a “fair agreement” and prevent the strike from going ahead.
As for now, the strikes are currently still planned to go ahead and will continue throughout July unless an agreement is reached.