CCOO Madrid has managed to get the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) to order the replacement of the minimum services set in Justice, Transportes —except for Metro de Madrid—and Education with those that were applied during the general strike of 2012.
"The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Madrid has agreed, by means of precautionary measures of the utmost urgency, to suspend the minimum services imposed by the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso in the Administration of Justice, Education and Transportes, with the exception of Metro de Madrid, for the general strike of this 11 November," CCOO Madrid has reported in a statement, thus celebrating a "judicial victory" of "special relevance" in defense of the right to strike.
The order, issued after the appeal lodged by CCOO Madrid through its legal services, establishes that the minimums in these sectors be adjusted to those that applied during the general strike of 14 November 2012. As the organization points out, the Chamber orders the Administration to "immediately comply with the measure agreed upon."
A decision which, in CCOO’s view, "arrives in time" because "the importance of this ruling lies both in its scope and in the moment in which it is adopted." "The court intervenes before the strike begins, through a procedure of special urgency and without prior hearing of the Administration, to prevent a possible favorable judgment from being reached when the right can no longer be exercised," they explain.
"The Chamber recognizes that, if it does not act now, a subsequent judgment granting the claim would be impossible to enforce in its own terms. With this, it offers effective protection to the right to strike while it is still possible to guarantee it," CCOO further adds.
The TSJM criticizes the increase in minimum services compared with 2012
As the union details, the TSJM finds "significant increases" in the minimum services compared with those of 2012 in the three areas affected. In the case of Justice, the court, on a precautionary basis, finds that the minimum services set could "empty the right to strike of its content." In Education, it holds that this right must be prioritized, by reducing staffing levels to the 2012 level, and in Transportes it likewise detects a "clear increase" capable of causing that emptying out.
The car states that "ensuring an essential service does not amount to maintaining its usual performance". It also emphasizes that "rights such as education are developed over time, while the exercise of the strike is concentrated on the day for which it has been called".
For CCOO Madrid, returning to the minimums agreed in 2012 "reinforces the value of negotiation over the unilateral imposition by the regional Government".
Immediate execution and call for the strike
"The ruling obliges changes to the affected minimum services. According to the information received by CCOO Madrid, the Ministry of Education has already informed the centers of their adaptation to the 2012 system in compliance with the order," they report.
CCOO Madrid therefore calls for the "immediate" compliance with the judicial resolution in all the sectors involved and urges people to support the general strike. "The guarantee of essential services must be compatible with the right of workers to stop work: minimum services cannot become an instrument to neutralize mobilization," they conclude.