The second day of strike in the meat industries has again recorded this Tuesday very broad support, with monitoring close to 90% across the country, according to data released by the Federación de Industria, Construcción y Agro of UGT (UGT FICA), which assesses "very positively" how this new day of work stoppages in the sector has developed.
This new massive backing shows the steadfastness of the workforces and reinforces the message that workers are conveying to employers’ organizations, demanding "real advances" in the negotiation of the state collective agreement for the meat industries.
The union emphasizes that the "high level of participation" maintained during these two consecutive days shows that the "discontent" in the sector is widespread and that the demands put forward by the trade union organizations enjoy majority support. Once again, thousands of workers have joined the stoppages and mobilizations called to defend working and pay conditions in line with the economic weight of the meat industry.
UGT FICA regrets that, despite the "decisive" backing for the strike, the meat employers’ association continues to offer no satisfactory response to the demands of the social side and keeps key progress blocked on issues such as wages, the working day, occupational health, work-life balance, and partial retirement.
At the same time, the Federation denounces the obstacles some employees are encountering in exercising their right to strike in certain companies in the sector, where pressure has been detected, attempts to deter participation, and actions aimed at limiting the follow-through of the mobilization.
UGT FICA recalls that the right to strike is a "fundamental" right recognized by the Constitution and requires companies to show the utmost respect for the freedom of the workforce to back trade union calls without coercion or threats.
The union highlights that among the main demands of the workers is a minimum wage increase of 4% for 2026, with a review clause linked to the CPI, as well as a reduction in annual working hours and improvements in the scheduling of working time.
In this scenario, UGT FICA calls for maintaining the commitment in the coming days of strikes and reiterates that the mobilizations will continue while the employers do not sit down to negotiate a worthy collective agreement that guarantees fair wages, better working conditions, and more rights for the people working in the sector.
Likewise, the union insists on its willingness to reach an agreement through collective bargaining, but warns that it will not accept a collective agreement that consolidates the loss of purchasing power for the workforce or that leaves unanswered the demands put forward to improve the quality of employment in the meat industries.