Last Wednesday, the planned strikes by ground service workers employed by Iberia, part of the International Airlines Group, had been called off. But after failed negotiations with the airline’s management, the unions representing the ground staffers have now called for a strike between 5 and 8 January.
The workers, including baggage handlers and counter staff, are protesting recent contracts signed by state-operated Aena with new service providers in September. These contracts, replacing Iberia’s previous services at several airports, have triggered discontent among unions, despite assurances from the new suppliers to maintain workers’ roles and conditions.
The unions canceled an originally planned strike for December 29 to January 1 and January 4-7 because the government had announced that it would mediate. This did not produce an acceptable result for the unions, after which they relaunched their call for a strike.
