Threat of strike action marks May Day
Government ministers call for a negotiated settlement to be reached over pay rises
UNION leaders have warned of an autumn of discontent if an agreement cannot be reached this month with business representatives over salary rises.
They noted that negotiations remain locked in stalemate while rising prices have meant that low-paid workers are struggling to get to the end of the month.
May Day marches were held in the principal cities of the country on Monday and government ministers attended the largest of them in Madrid, where up to 60,000 people walked from the Gran Vía to the Plaza de España.
The main unions set out their stall over pay under the banner ‘increase wages, reduce prices and share the profits’.
The leaders of the UGT and CCOO unions stated that if they are not able to reach terms with the national confederation of business organisations (CEOE) during May then ‘mobilisations’ of workers will take place during the autumn.
This would be strike action for sectors in which accords have not been reached in negotiations over workers’ collective agreements that govern pay and conditions.
Secretary general of the CCOO, Unai Sordo said they had arrived at a ‘crucial time’.
He warned that industrial action could take the form of a general strike around the country.
“Our patience has run out,” he said.
Sr Sordo noted that ‘people are having a hard time’ and the combination of low salaries and high prices is an ‘explosive mix’.
Secretary general of the UGT union, Pepe Álvarez said there needed to be a fairer distribution of wealth in society.
“We have to recover the balance between the profits that are being made and the wages which people are taking home,” he said.
“Ensuring a fair share of wealth is a guarantee of economic growth.”
Both of the leaders noted that the working classes and low paid have lost purchasing power and are suffering because of it.
Minister for work, Yolanda Díaz, who attended the march in Madrid, called on the CEOE to close a deal as soon as possible with the unions.
“It is vital that they do so, and that they are up to the task,” she said.
According to Sra Díaz, the profit margins enjoyed by company owners are huge when compared with average salaries.
Minister for the treasury, María Jesús Montero also stressed the importance of a negotiated settlement and said the government wanted to ensure that there was ‘social harmony’ in the country.