A four-day strike in Iberia’s ground handling services (‘handling’) will begin tonight, at dawn on the 5th, until next January 8, due to a failure to reach agreement between the company and the CCOO, UGT and USO unions on their provision. Passengers are served at meetings held on Wednesday and this Thursday morning. Company sources confirmed to EL PERIÓDICO of the Prensa Ibérica group that this Thursday’s meeting was unsuccessful. In fact, the first of the canceled flights coincides with one of them. Madrid And Gran Canary palms We were to leave Barajas at 20.15 on Thursday night, January 4th.
Thus, after the meeting held between them this Thursday Iberia Airport Service (ground handling subsidiary) and unions CCOO, UGT and USO, They decided to continue calling the strike as a measure to pressure Iberia to maintain ‘handling’ provision for its own flights at the eight airports where the company had failed to win the contract. By AENA for the central implementation of these services. Unions say transport workers in Iberia proxies By one of the other four companies that won the official tender to provide ground handling services at the eight airports in question.
Canceled flights
The call for a protest on December 29 has already forced the company to take action. Cancel 444 flightsaffecting 45,641 passengers. The company assured this Tuesday that it has already taken the necessary measures.90.9% of these travelers (80.2% were shifted to other flights and 10.7% were refunded).
Of the total number of canceled flights, 50 correspond to the route between Madrid and Barcelona (in one direction or another); 12 corresponds to the connections between Madrid and Las Palmas.
The 444 flights are distributed across the company’s three main brands in Spain: 270, Iberia64 to Iberian Express and to 110 AirNostrum. In the first case, canceled flights account for 24% of the 1,106 operations Iberia planned for the strike period.
Thus, the company will operate 836 flights in these four days. Among these, almost all long distance operations (including those from LEVEL). 51% of 270 cancellations domestic flights and 49% Europe flights.
On the other hand, in this case Iberian Express Cancellations represent 12% of scheduled flights. Air Nostrum It reaches 28%.
The origins of the conflict emerged when Iberia lost a service management competition at its airports last September. Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, South Tenerife, Ibiza and Bilbyear So, except for the most relevant in Spain Madrid. Aena therefore decided to give him the privilege. Aviapartner, Groundforce (Globalia), Menzies and Swisport. As Aena explained at the time, these award-winning companies replacement of existing staff There are approximately 11,290 employees in handling services.
Unions do not want this successor because this means leaving the Iberia umbrella. We call on Iberia to ‘automatically handle’ (manage its own flights) all companies in the IAG group (to which it belongs along with British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level).