Airbus has committed to present a new offer to the trade unions next Thursday, September 3, after a new mediation session held this Tuesday afternoon at the SIMA, driven by management and in which the unions calling for the indefinite strike --CGT, UGT, and ÚTIL-- did not participate.
Union sources have indicated to Europa Press that the manufacturer wants to respond to the request of CCOO, SIPA, and ATP, present at the meeting, to advance on the pre-agreement reached in July and also improve the last proposal presented last week, both regarding the update of salaries and the specification of commitments in the rest of the sections.
This meeting was held after another meeting in the morning, within the framework of the strike file table, in which the strike committee did participate and which ended without consensus, as the company's refusal to negotiate with CGT, UGT, and ÚTIL remains while the protest is not suspended or called off.
With the labor conflict still blocked, the Secretary of State for Industry, Jordi García Brustenga, expressed today that he is "worried" about the current scenario, warning that the future of the sector in Spain is at risk: "We cannot play with the bread of the next 30 years." In his view, the aerospace sector represents "a great opportunity" for development for the country.
During his speech, he also opened the door to possible mediation by the Government or the Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu, if no progress is made, in addition to demanding speed to reach a solution "as soon as possible."
In similar terms, the mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, has called for responsibility from both the works council and management, reminding that the Andalusian capital, as "the aerospace capital of southern Europe, along with Toulouse and Hamburg," has "a lot at stake" with the production halt.
At the same time, a group of Airbus employees traveled this Tuesday to Congress to meet with Podemos and present the labor situation in the company. The worker and representative of CGT, Raúl García, intervened to denounce that the company "does not want to negotiate with the strike committee."
According to García, the strike will remain in effect until a pact that is acceptable to the entire workforce is reached.
The company recognizes a "critical" situation
The prolongation of the conflict, with two strike calls since July, has led to a "critical" situation for Airbus's activity, as the company itself has admitted. It has also recently acknowledged that it has received "clear" messages of "concern" from various clients and stakeholders who "need business continuity and reliability."
The central economic elements of Airbus's latest proposal involved linking salaries to the real CPI and recovering 7.6% of purchasing power, fully maintaining the current teleworking agreement, among other commitments.
However, this offer has not been sufficient for the calling unions, as the workers from Getafe (Madrid), San Pablo, and Tablada (Sevilla) decided yesterday not to stop the strikes with 81.2% of the in-person votes cast in the assemblies, that is, around 1,000 workers out of a total of 15,000 in Spain. On the other hand, 16.4% opted for suspension and 2.4% abstained.
In addition, the workers from Albacete and Cádiz did not participate in the voting but announced that they align with the majority result, while the center in Illescas (Toledo) had already decided last Friday to pause the mobilization.