24-Hour Walkouts Set for Christmas Week and New Year's Eve
The Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) of Catalonia has announced two 24-hour strikes affecting supermarket and self-service food store workers across the region on Thursday 24 December and Thursday 31 December. The industrial action, formally registered on 25 September, comes after negotiations with employer associations Gepsac and Cedac failed to progress, according to UGT. The union accused the groups of blocking a new collective agreement.
Pay and Conditions at Core of Dispute
UGT is demanding a 4% annual salary increase, linking wages to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and improvements in working conditions. In Catalonia, CPI rose by 4.5% in September, the union noted. The previous agreement led to a 2.1% loss in purchasing power, the union said, which is why it rejects repeating the existing salary review mechanism as 'insufficient'.
We are calling for real improvements that restore lost ground and protect workers’ living standards.
Another key issue is working hours and professional classification. UGT is calling for reduced working time and the unification of pay scales above the minimum wage.
Protest Rally to Precede Strikes
Ahead of the strikes, UGT will hold a rally on Tuesday 20 October at 11:00 outside the headquarters of Foment del Treball in Barcelona. The demonstration aims to pressure employer groups to change their position in negotiations. The two strike days, 24 and 31 December, are among the busiest of the year for supermarkets, and the union said the timing is intended to increase pressure for a new IV Collective Agreement that delivers tangible gains for staff.
Workers across all shifts and retail sites are expected to participate, according to the official strike notice filed on 25 September. The action covers all food supermarkets and self-service stores in Catalonia under the relevant sectoral agreement.
Reported by larazon.es, ugt.cat, La Razón Cataluña.
