The Airbus workforce in Illescas (Toledo) and Albacete has chosen to interrupt the strike called at the company for several days to open a margin for negotiation, while the rest of the centers —Getafe, Cádiz, San Pablo, and Tablada— will submit a proposal with the specific dates of this temporary suspension for voting this Monday, as recently indicated by the general secretary of the UGT-FICA union section in Airbus Cádiz and member of the negotiating table at SIMA, Edmundo Otero.
The decision comes after the latest proposal presented by the manufacturer, which includes linking salaries to the real CPI and a recovery of purchasing power of 7.6%, among other elements, conditioning however the formal application of the agreement on the unions proceeding with the immediate withdrawal or suspension of the strike.
In the case of Illescas, the workforce supported the suspension of the stoppages last Friday in assembly, while in Albacete they will express their opinion this Monday, just like in the other mentioned centers, where it will also be voted whether to temporarily halt the mobilization.
Otero detailed that this initiative, defended by UGT in the assemblies on Friday in all the factories, aims to check if the company "makes a move effectively" in the negotiation, keeping open the option to "activate it indefinitely" if the progress by the company is considered insufficient.
The union leader emphasized that the purpose of this suspension is to "dismantle the only argument that the company uses to not conclude this negotiation with the strike committee" and to show that "the workers comply in the negotiation" and will not be "the impediment to absolutely block anything." Nevertheless, he insisted that "the responsibility of all parties must be to reach a final proposal as soon as possible."
In a statement released by UGT FICA, the organization has warned that it will return "to the indefinite strike if in the end this is just another maneuver by Airbus" and has demanded that management, after this gesture, "no longer has excuses to close a conflict" after the workforce rejected the previous negotiating platform.
Otero specified that any proposal that comes out of the negotiation table will be discussed first in the assemblies of all centers and then will be submitted to "a binding general referendum in which the staff decides whether the agreement is sufficient or not to close this conflict and return to normality in the company," as UGT, CGT, and UTIL committed.
The next formal mediation meeting between Airbus and the legal representation of the workers will take place tomorrow Tuesday at SIMA, a meeting in which the company will reiterate that the definitive closure of the agreement depends on a prior scenario without strikes or mobilizations.
"We are fully committed to reaching an agreement. We see a great goodwill in many areas, which gives us the confidence that we can succeed in finding a common way forward," the company assured last week.
Details of Airbus's latest offer
In the remuneration area, Airbus's latest proposal includes a direct reference of the salary to the real CPI, along with a recovery of purchasing power of 7.6% distributed over five years and with a validity that would extend until 2030.
In addition, the economic proposal from management incorporates the allocation of an additional 0.5% for individual salary reviews (RSI) and another 0.5% specifically aimed at addressing the section of internal professional promotions.
In other highlighted aspects, the company commits to fully maintaining the current teleworking agreement, respecting the individual agreements signed with the staff and preserving the cap of 40% of the working day in non-presential mode.
Regarding absenteeism control, the multinational confirms the suspension of the Bradford system, so it will proceed to refund the deductions applied to payroll within a maximum period of two months after the ratification of the agreement, and will set up a parity working group to agree on a new prevention model.