The unions CCOO, FEFANE, UGT, and CIG, which are part of the negotiating table for the XXVI state collective bargaining agreement for pharmacy offices, have agreed on a calendar of actions to increase pressure on the employers' association, the Spanish Federation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (FEFE). The plan includes an information campaign in pharmacies over the next few days, a concentration in front of FEFE's headquarters on Thursday, July 23, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and the organization of new protests in the second half of September.
The decision comes after the failure of the mediation attempt before the SIMA held on Tuesday, June 30. The negotiation of the agreement, which began in September 2024, "has registered innumerable vicissitudes due to the obstructionist attitude of the employers' association FEFE, which from the beginning expressed very restrictive positions," the union organizations state in a press release.
They emphasize that the employers' proposal for salary increases "was below the on-account increases contemplated in the agreement during its ultra-activity and the presentation of some proposals that worsened what was included in the collective bargaining agreement itself, such as economic compensation during IT situations."
In the face of this blockade, the unions assure that they have maintained a "dialoguing" stance, putting different options on the table in "search of rapprochements" regarding the initial demands platform, "and promoting mediation before the SIMA long after the 1-year period from the constitution of the negotiating table stipulated by the Workers' Statute, in order to give the negotiation all necessary opportunities."
The union headquarters criticize FEFE's "scant sensitivity" to the "more than legitimate and fair" demands raised, although they highlight "the good work" of the mediators, thanks to which the employers' association agreed to some improvements, such as reducing the annual working hours by 12 hours over a 2-year period. Despite this, the procedure concluded without an agreement.
In response to demands for greater flexibility, the unions agree to study the extension of the daily working hours beyond 9 hours and even open up to consulting their bases on the employers' proposal to make weekly rest more flexible, provided that the salary increase reaches 15.5% in 4 years, with increases of 2%, 3%, 5.25%, and 5.25% for 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028.
"Unfortunately, FEFE does not value this relevant effort, proposing a 14% pay increase over 4 years, significantly lower than agreed upon in the negotiation of the previous agreement (3.5% average annual compared to 3.84%), in a currently significantly better socioeconomic context, and closely linked to its restrictive proposal on weekly rest flexibility, whereby the half-day of rest could be postponed for up to 4 weeks," they argue.