Christmas Airport Strikes Called Off

The threatened strike by members of the CCOO union that would have affected Spain's airports over the festive period has been called off.

An agreement was reached on Wednesday evening with the national ministry of transport, the dispute having been about non-payment of productivity pay (bonuses). This had been suspended during the pandemic and not restored; the bonuses will now be paid in January and March next year.

The CCOO has the highest worker representation of all unions in the Aena airports authority network of 43 airports and two heliports; some 10,000 workers.

Other unions had not backed the strike, the CCOO saying that its planned action had been “appropriate as the majority union” and that it had “assumed a very significant risk alone” in recovering productivity pay.

In the union’s view, “pressure” exerted in the media gave “maximum publicity” to the strike and proved to be “key” in reaching a settlement. The strike was due to have started on December 22. Six days of strike action had been scheduled up to January 8, with the threat of further action during the first quarter of 2023 and up to Easter.