ARCHIVED - Air traffic controllers in Spain vote to strike in January and February
Navigation services at 16 airports in Spain will be impacted by industrial action
Disgruntled staff are once again taking their toll on the Spanish aviation sector and this time it’s the turn of the air traffic controllers, who have just voted to strike for five days between January and February.
The industrial action, called by the unions Usca (Air Traffic Controllers Union) and CC OO, will be staged by workers of privatised control towers at 16 Spanish airports: A Coruña, Alicante-Elche, Castellón, Cuatro Vientos, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Ibiza, Jerez, Lanzarote, La Palma, Lleida, Murcia, Sabadell, Seville, Valencia and Vigo.
A total of 162 staff will down tools for 24 hours on January 30 and February 6, 13, 20 and 27 as negotiations on a collective agreement have come to a standstill after more than a year of talks.
The air traffic controllers' unions have tried to reach an agreement and, as they explained in a statement, they have already ceded "important issues," which they fail to specify.
"The system cannot work based on the efforts of a fatigued workforce and with constant cuts in rights consolidated in the past," they added.
Airport staff hope that the strike announcement will push the business association APCTA to resume negotiations over working conditions, since any work stoppages are sure to harm the image of the country’s main economic activity, tourism, given “the level of delays” it will cause.
Earlier this week it was confirmed that the fees airlines have to pay to fly over Spanish airspace will increase by more than 10% this year, and carriers are not going to be impressed with this latest strike action considering the charges are mainly for air navigation services.
The air traffic strike is occurring in tandem with work stoppages by Vueling’s cabin crew staff and similar action by maintenance technicians with Air Nostrum, which is scheduled to get underway on Monday January 23.
Also of interest: Hand luggage allowances on flights in Spain for 2023
Image: Freepik
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